Enter the Witch and the Miko
by Sayaka M
Summary: R&K 1. IYWHR crossover, but mostly Inuyasha. Slight YYH near the end. Naraku is destroyed. That seemed to be the only good thing. A strange girl, shot through the shoulder, is found at the base of the Goshinboku, and the one shard left is eluding its sear
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary: IY/ WHR crossover, but mostly Inuyasha. Slight YYH near the end. Naraku is destroyed. That seemed to be the only good thing. A strange girl, shot through the shoulder, is found at the base of the Goshinboku, and the one shard left is eluding its searchers. Kagome finds danger on both sides of the well by taking in the witch, and now her life is changed.**

Running. She'd been running for what seemed like hours. The rain, though it weakened her power, would also make it more difficult for them to follow her. They wouldn't think that she would travel in the rain; they thought she would hole up somewhere and wait it out. As much as she wanted to, her life would be forfeit if she did. And so she kept running. Running from her old life. Running… from _them_. She had trusted them; apparently, it was the wrong decision. It may be her last decision. Maybe it wasn't their fault. After all, they have to follow orders, and they were ordered to hunt you. They may not like it, but there isn't a whole lot they can do. _No!_ She shook her head angrily. _They had no problem shooting at me. Their eyes…_ She shuddered as she splashed through growing puddles. _In their eyes there was no compassion or mercy_. She had become just a target to them.

Her shoulder throbbed painfully as she thought about what had happened. One of their shots had hit its mark. Another reason she blessed the rain. As long as it fell, it would hide what blood still leaked through. She managed to stem most of the flow, but some still got through the makeshift bandage. Her eyes narrowed as the rain fell harder, thought it was not for that reason. Her tears mixed with the rain as she remembered why she was wet, hurt, and running. Maybe to run forever. Always running…

―Flashback―

It was another normal day at the office. Michael was at the computer, typing like his fingers were competing in the Olympics, looking for more active witches to hunt. Sakaki, the rookie, was watching Michael while leaning against the wall. Doujima was being her lazy self, sitting in a chair slightly behind Michael's, her arms around the backrest and watching Michael's fast fingers. Ms. Karasuma was talking quietly with their boss, Chief Kosaka, about something. And then there was Amon. At the moment, their dark leader was in a private conference with Zaizen, the man who ran the place, the main boss that everyone answered to.

When the day was done, not much had changed. Almost everyone was still doing the same thing they'd done at the beginning of the day. As everyone filed out of the office, she glanced at the closed door to Zaizen's private office. He and Amon were still talking. She didn't think anything of it, as it wasn't the first time that happened.

As she started walking to where she lived, she decided to stop at Harry's Place first to pick up some food so Nagira didn't have to cook. She smiled to herself as she remembered the last time he tried to cook. The key word was tried. He almost burned the house down with them in it!

After picking up the food, she started the walk to Nagira's home. Five minutes later, she walked through the door and into the house. It was more like a big apartment, but it was a place to call home.

"Nagira, I'm back with dinner," she called. The sound of something heavy being dropped was heard right before Nagira himself appeared as if by magic in a chair at the table, looking at her expectantly. Smiling, she set the food on the table and sat across from him. They talked as they began to eat; or rather, Nagira complained about his day while she provided a sympathetic ear.

When the finished eating, and Nagira had blown off enough steam, she cleared the table and got ready for bed. She knelt down by the mat where she slept, said her prayers, and got under the blankets. Her last thought before sleep overcame her was _Maybe tonight I'll be able to sleep the night through._

But her wish didn't come true, as it almost never does. Ten minutes after she fell asleep, according to her clock, Nagira was shaking her awake and speaking in a worried voice.

"C'mon, you have to leave. Apparently someone told Zaizen that you were a witch. Right now the other hunters are on their way to get you."

Since she was still half asleep, the news went right over her head, and she only stared at him blankly. He growled in frustration and, grabbing her shoulders, shook her. "Think of the Orbo! That's what's coming right now!"

The image of the sick green color of the liquid that brought down witches woke her up. She began to shake, terror coursing through her body.

"Wh-what d-do I do?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Run. There's no time to pack anything, and it would be too heavy anyway. Take the phone and call me in two or three days time."

"Wait, Nagira," she said as she pulled a sweater over her head and pushed her toward the top of the stairs. "How do you know all this? And how do you know I'll even be alive in two days?"

"For the first question, I have my sources in the STN-J, and for the second question, I know you. You'll do what you have to in order to keep alive. Now," he stopped for a second at the foot of the stairs he just hustled her down. "They'll probably keep an eye on me for as long as they're looking for you. I'll try to help as best I can, but don't count on it."

"Don't worry about me; worry about yourself. I can run, but you have to stay here. You might even be in more danger than me."

"I'll miss you, but we'll be in touch in two or three days. Take care of yourself, and stay out of trouble." Nagira gave her a quick hug, and pushed her out the back door.

She sneaked along the dark roads, wishing she had gotten a little more sleep. She wasn't tired at the moment, but that was because adrenaline was pushing back the tiredness. Uh-oh. The houses were gone, and the park was ahead. It was more of a woods area that extended for 15 miles before opening into the outskirts of Tokyo. This would be a perfect place to hide from her former comrades, but it could also work the other way around. Oh, well. She would have to chance it. Cautiously, she crept towards her goal, making sure she didn't step on anything that would snap. When she was 30 yards away, she darted forward, praying she wouldn't be seen. Big mistake. _Bang!_ The sound of a gunshot, and the sudden agonizing pain in her right shoulder told her one bullet had hit its mark. She stumbled, but caught herself before she fell, and continued running. She could hear them giving chase, but she wouldn't let them catch her. Their voices were coming steadily closer from different directions. _I guess this means I'll have to climb a bit,_ she thought. Wincing at the fiery pain in her arm, she climbed up as best she could, and hid in the darkest parts of the tree, listening and watching the ground below her. After 5 minutes, her pursuers met up not far from her tree. She couldn't see them, but their voices carried just fine.

The first to speak was Amon. "Did any of you see traces of her?" The next voice belonged to Karasuma. "No. It was like she just disappeared." Then Sakaki decided to join the conversation. "Do you think she outran us? We've never seen how fast she could run."

Amon again. "No. She's still here; my bullet grazed her, and that will slow her down. She's definitely still here, somewhere close. We have to keep looking."

"Hey, Mr. Amon, why are we hunting her? What did she do?"

"She's a witch, Sakaki. Witches are dangerous, and must be hunted. That's our job. Do you understand?"

Sigh. "Yes, Mr. Amon."

She heard their feet taking them away from this area. Slowly, she slithered down the trunk. Still moving slowly, she walked a few steps and listened. The sounds of the nightlife were heard. If there had been anyone around, they would've been silent. She began to move faster, even though her shoulder was aching and bleeding. After 30 minutes of moving quietly, she felt sufficiently far enough away to pick up the pace. She began to run like the hounds of Hades were on her tail.

−End Flashback−

Three hours later, she was still running. It was much slower than the pace she started out with, but it was still pretty fast. However, she was beginning to feel tired. The Orbo bullet was making her feel disoriented. She had lost her sense of direction, and had a feeling she was beginning to walk in circles. The world was starting to spin, and her whole body was in agony. The Orbo had spread, and was trying to take her down. But she would continue to fight it. Or at least, she would try to fight it. The rain that had started 2 hours ago did nothing to help her except keep her conscious and moving.

Just as she was about to collapse, she saw a tree. Now, trees had surrounded her ever since she had fled, but this tree was huge! It also gave her a sense of peace, like it was trying to comfort her, telling her everything would sort out, and things would be set to rights. But for the bullet in her shoulder, she would have believed it.

Just as she reached the base of the trunk, her strength seemed to leave, like she was a puppet and someone had cut her strings. She collapsed against the base, breathing heavily. _Dear Lord,_ she prayed, _I know that I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins, as it seems I am to meet you and Saint Peter shortly. As Our Lord did all those centuries ago, Father, to you I commend my spirit._ And with that, Robin Sena fell out of consciousness.

&&


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot to do this in the first chapter, so I'll just do it now. I don't own either Inuyasha or Witch Hunter Robin. I know, you're all disappointed, but that's the way it goes. And while I'm thinking about it, ifthe storyseems confusing at times, it's because some of my symbols separating certain parts isn't working. I've tried different ways of making it work, but it just refuses to cooperate. I'm very sorry about that, but don't let it stop you from reading!

&&

Kagome smiled sadly as she reviewed what had happened that day. They had finally faced off Naraku. Not a puppet, not an incarnation, the real thing. It was a long battle, the longest, most vicious battle they had ever been in. Every time they seemed to defeat him, he would just get back up, unharmed. Miroku couldn't use his Wind Tunnel because of the Saimyoushou, and had to use his staff as a weapon instead. He and Sango faced off Naraku's demon army while Inuyasha fought Naraku one-on-one. Kikyo, the former guardian of the Shikon no Tama, was shooting her arrows at Hakudoshi, the most powerful of Naraku's incarnations, while Kagome used her arrows to channel her miko powers and shot them into the demon army. She couldn't remember when she last saw Shippo. _I hope he's somewhere safe,_ she thought.

She fired another shot and, reaching for another arrow but not feeling any, realized that the arrow she'd just shot had been her last. _My arrows!_ she cried inwardly. _Now I can't help them!_ Then, a crazy idea occurred to her._ Well, this is the last battle, what do I have to lose?_ She closed her eyes and focused on forming her miko power into the shape of an arrow. _I feel stupid…No! Can't think of that. Feel the arrow, see the arrow, be one with the arrow…_ She began to feel heat in her hands. Opening her eyes, she saw a bow and an arrow ready to fire, glowing purple. The original bow had disintegrated. Surprised, she reflexively loosed the arrow, which sailed harmlessly into the trees. She stood there for a moment, staring in the direction of her arrow. _Well, I guess it works._

Kagome fired her miko arrows into the mass of demons, giving Miroku and Sango a small break. She felt something tugging her fuku. Looking down, she saw Shippo and Kohaku. She tried to back up, but Kohaku's grip was too strong, and Shippo wasn't helping either.

"I understand that you don't trust me. What I've done is unforgivable. But, I've vowed to bring down Naraku, and I can't do it by myself. Will you help me, miko?"

Kagome looked into his eyes apprehensively. _There's something different about his eyes. Wait! Those aren't the eyes of someone being controlled. He somehow broke Naraku's control over him!_ Slowly, she nodded.

"Come with me," he said, pulling her to the right. Twenty feet into the woods, there was a clearing with an evil aura. Warily, they crept towards the edge of the clearing. The first thing she noticed was Kanna, Naraku's void incarnation.

"We have to get rid of her," said Kohaku quietly.

"How?" asked Shippo. "She absorbs any attack sent her way or else deflects it!"

"Leave that to me. Just distract her."

He started crawling away, leaving Kagome and Shippo to distract Kanna. She turned to Shippo and said, "I don't want you to move. I'm going to be the distraction, and I don't want to have to worry about your safety."

"But Kagome, I don't want to stay here while everyone else is fighting!" he cried.

"No buts, Shippo," she said firmly, and crawled into the clearing without waiting to hear his answer.

"Kagome," Kanna said in her whispery voice. "Since you entered where you shouldn't, your soul is forfeit."

"Not today, Kanna," Kagome responded. She powered her miko bow and arrows. "Kanna, if you leave, you won't get hurt."

"You don't understand. I can't leave," Kanna whispered. "Now surrender your soul."

"I can't. Since you won't leave, I have to get rid of you." She fired her arrow, but Kanna managed to avoid it. This started a game of shoot-and-dodge, with Kagome shooting and Kanna dodging. This game took its toll on Kagome. She was using her own power, which was tiring. Kanna still wore her usual neutral mask, her blank eyes on Kagome. After another round, Kagome collapsed. Her strength was nearly depleted. Kanna approached, holding her mirror in front of her. "Now your soul is mine," she whispered. She turned her mirror until it caught the light, and began to suck Kagome's soul into its depths.

"NO!" A small furry thing streaked past and began attacking Kanna. "Stop it! Leave Kagome alone!"

"Shippo, NO!" Kagome screamed. She could see he was using his claws and fangs to try and get Kanna to stop.

Then, Kanna froze. A sickle was sticking out of her chest, and blood was staining her white robes. Turning, she stared at Kohaku, who was holding the chain attached to the sickle. She looked shocked, or as shock as she ever looked.

"Kohaku, why have you turned against Master Naraku?"

"Naraku is not my master! He killed my entire village except for my sister, Sango," Kohaku replied. "Miko, hurry, shoot her now!"

"Okay," she said as she struggled to sit up. Summoning her miko arrow, she used the last of her strength to shoot it at Kanna. She turned, trying to deflect it, but she was too slow. It hit its mark, and she burst into purple light. When the sunspots left their eyes, all that was left of the void demon was dust, blowing away on the wind.

Kohaku stood and started looking around. "Where is it?" he muttered. Shippo trotted over to where Kohaku was searching for something. After a few words were spoken, Shippo started looking for whatever Kohaku was looking for. Kagome could only watch their progress. Her strength was exhausted.

Kohaku let out an exclamation of triumph. "Miko, you need to come here."

She answered crossly, "I can't move, much less crawl over there."

Kohaku came to her, looking sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know those attacks took so much out of you. I guess I should have known."

"It's alright, Kohaku," she said "I just need a little help to get over there."

"Lean on me." Together they hobbled over to where Kohaku had found what he had been looking for. Kagome looked into the bushes where the thing had been hiding. Right in the middle of them was a baby.

"Is this what you were looking for, Kohaku?" she asked.

"Yes. This is no child. This is Naraku's heart. If this baby is killed, then Naraku will die as well. I cannot kill it; I am not strong enough. I know you're tired, but it will end Naraku and the fighting."

"Kohaku, this is just a baby. Even if it is Naraku, I'm not a baby-killer."

The baby gave an evil smile, and a tentacle like Naraku's formed and went straight for Shippo. Catching the poor kitsune kit by the neck, the baby Naraku began to throttle Shippo, shaking him around.

"Shippo!" cried Kagome. _Normally, I wouldn't harm a baby, but since it's trying to kill Shippo, I don't have much choice._ Finding a strength that hadn't been there before, she didn't bother creating an arrow; she just sent a blast of sparkling purple miko energy towards the baby. It gave a howl that was like nails on a chalkboard, and, like Kanna, disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Kagome ran over to Shippo, who was on the ground, panting. "Shippo, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm as well as can be expected," he replied.

"Let's get back to the others of your group. I'll take Shippo," said Kohaku, already picking up Shippo and running towards the battle. Kagome, running on pure adrenaline, sprinted after him.

They arrived just in time to see Naraku and Hakudoshi clutching their hearts, or where their hearts would have been. The rest of the battles had stopped, and the combatants were watching them. Inuyasha said, "Now the world is finally rid of you and your taint."

Naraku glared at him and snarled, "If I die, then one of you will go with me." One of his tentacles snapped forward, and went right through Kikyo. Both of their bodies were destroyed in the miasma that appeared when all of the demons that were inside Naraku were obliterated.

"Come on! If we don't move, we'll be killed by the miasma!" shouted Kohaku. He grabbed Sango and Miroku, and started pulling them toward the woods. Kagome picked up Shippo, and shouted to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, move! We can mourn Kikyo later." He only stood there, looking at the spot where Kikyo had stood. She sighed and, taking his hand, yanked him in the direction she wanted to go. He followed, dazed and still not comprehending what had happened.

They followed Kohaku's lead until he said they were far enough away that the poison of the miasma wouldn't affect them. Right after this statement, Kagome's adrenaline left, and she fell to the ground. Miroku took one look at the condition of everyone present and stated, "We are in no condition to move further tonight. We'll rest here for now."

Sango was staring at Kohaku. "How… why…"

He answered her, "I don't know how I got my memories back, but somehow I did. I've been trying to act like nothing happened, that I was still his slave, so he wouldn't think anything was wrong. I guess it worked. I found out what his weakness was, and this was the only chance I had to tell you, or rather, the miko."

"Kagome?" Sango asked weakly.

He nodded. "She was able to purify Kanna, who was guarding him, and then destroy the heart." He figured it was prudent to omit the fact that the heart was a baby, and that Kagome was able to kill it only because if she hadn't, it would have killed Shippo.

Sango smiled and hugged him. "Now you're free of Naraku's control, and can stay with me. We can be a family again."

Kohaku shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I don't know how we can do that. You need the Shikon shard in my back, and that is the only thing that is keeping me alive."

"Oh." Reality hit Sango hard. "But maybe Kaede can help. She's the priestess in our new village. Or maybe Kagome could. You never know."

"All right, Sango." _I only hope she won't be hit too hard when it doesn't work. It could, but that's a little too much to ask for._ "Um, Sango?"

"Hm?"

"Someone has to go back for the Shikon Jewel. We can't let someone else get to it before us."

"Right! Miroku," she called to the monk, who was feeding the small fire he had just started. "We need someone to get the Jewel Shard that Naraku had."

"I'll get it, Sango-dear," he replied.

"Thank you, houshi-sama," she said.

She turned back to Kohaku. "We'll find some way of saving you. I won't lose you again." She looked at the rest of the group. "It's amazing that everyone made it out alive."

"What about that woman that Naraku killed?" asked her younger brother.

"Kikyo? Oh, right." Sango looked at Inuyasha sadly. "She wasn't really with us. Do you remember the story of the Shikon Jewel being given to a priestess 50 years ago for safekeeping?"

He nodded. "Well," Sango continued, "that was her. Now, I know that seems impossible, but sometime after she died, after the Jewel was broken, a witch took her grave soil and created a body from it. However, she failed to summon her spirit into the body because it had already chosen another body. So, the witch took the soul's new body, and called the spirit out of it and into the body she had created. This reawakened Kikyo. Then, Inuyasha and Kaede, Kikyo's younger sister, came to rescue the spirit's new body. I'm not sure what exactly happened after that, since I wasn't there, but in the end, Kikyo fell off a cliff after the new body called most of her spirit back into herself. We all thought that she had died, but somehow, she lived and started living as a simple priestess in a small village. That was when we found her."

"Who was the new body of her spirit?" asked Kohaku, his curiosity piqued. "Do you know her? Do I know her?"

Sango nodded. "We both know her. She's asleep over there by the fire."

He looked over at Kagome. "Her?"

"Yes. Later we found out that both she and Kikyo were reincarnations of Midoriko, the warrior priestess who was trapped in that cave by our village."

"You mean the woman trapped in the jaws of that demon with a hole in her chest?"

"The very same. Only Kagome has more of Midoriko than Kikyo. I don't know how that works, but that's one of the mysteries of life."

"Maybe we should ask her. She might know."

"She doesn't. She was already asked when we found out. And it's not a good idea to bring any of this up. She hates being reminded that she's the reincarnation of Kikyo and Midoriko. She doesn't mind Midoriko so much, but Kikyo's tried to kill her countless times, so she's a bit touchy on that subject."

"Oh. Um, how come the hanyou is…" He couldn't find the right words to describe Inuyasha, who was staring blankly into the flames, not moving.

Sango looked over and sighed. "Naraku tricked him into killing Kikyo 50 years ago. Right before she died, she pinned him to a tree, and he slept for all those years, until Kagome pulled out the arrow, freeing him. When he found out Kikyo was, um, "alive", he wanted to make it up to her, since they were both tricked. At first, Kikyo didn't believe him, and when she found that he was telling the truth, she wanted him to go to hell with her. He felt torn between staying with Kikyo, as he would have if Naraku hadn't turned them against one another, and staying with Kagome and finding all the Jewel Shards. Now that Kikyo's gone, I don't know if he'll kill himself, or just stay with Kagome."

The sound of footsteps and the rustle of cloth heralded the return of Miroku. He was holding his staff in one hand and a pouch in the other. "Did you find it?" Sango asked.

"Yes, but it's tainted with Naraku's evil, and I dare not touch it. I will leave it in this bag until Kagome awakens and is ready to purify it."

"I'm up, Miroku," Kagome said as she slowly sat up. "I'll just do it now, and save time."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" he asked in concern. "You used a lot of energy, and surely you haven't regained it already?"

"No, I haven't, but I have enough to purify this small thing." She took the bag when he handed it to her. She opened the mouth of it, and rolled the almost complete Shikon Jewel into her palm. She closed her eyes for a moment and focused her energy onto the Jewel. It glowed purple again, and began to sparkle. Opening her eyes, she said, "There, it's pure again. I'll add the shards that we have." Miroku got them from her backpack, and gave them to her. "Okay, let's put them together." They all watched with anticipation while the smaller shards melded with the large one. When it was finished, there was still a hole in the once perfect sphere.

"What!" everyone shouted. That couldn't be right. They had gotten all of the shards. Kagome pinched herself. Hard. Rubbing her arm, she looked again. There was still a gaping hole in it.

"Looks like we're still missing some," Kagome said sadly.

"What about the one in Kohaku's back?" asked Miroku.

"Oh, yeah, there's still that one, and the ones that Koga has, but there's one more missing even if we took Kohaku's and Koga's."

Sango asked quietly, "Kagome, do you think you could take Kohaku's Jewel Shard and still have him live?"

She hesitated. Could she? She replied, "I don't know, Sango, but even if I could, we would need to be at Kaede's. The wounds that killed him, or would have, would reopen, and I don't know enough about healing to save him. But I think it's worth a shot."

Sango hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Kagome. You don't know what this means to me."

Kagome just smiled. _I hope it works, for your sake, Sango._ Looking over at Inuyasha, she saw that he hadn't so much as twitched since she had fallen asleep. _Maybe he'll be better in the morning_ she thought.

_Okay, this has been one heck of a day. First, we took on Naraku and won without losing anyone except Kikyo, who wasn't a big loss. Then, we find that Kohaku is all right, and we didn't have to kill him, and finally, there's still a shard missing. Seems impossible to have done all this in one day, but I guess luck was with us. OW! Okay, too much thinking, I'll do this in the morning._ With these last thoughts, Kagome fell asleep.

The next morning, Kagome woke to find that the fire had gone out, and everyone else was asleep, even Inuyasha. _Figures. Well, we did fight a hard battle, so I guess it's only right that they get some sleep. We're just lucky some demon didn't steal the Jewel while we slept._ Looking at Inuyasha, she sighed. _Will he follow Kikyo? Will he stay? I don't care if he chooses to love that clay pot, but I want him to live, not die._ Looking at herself next, she noticed how dirty she and her clothes were. Both were covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. _Ewww! I look and feel dirty! There had better be a hot spring or a river somewhere around here; oh, this is gross!_ Unfortunately, there was no spring or river that she could hear, and she didn't want to lose the others by wandering off by herself. So she had to settle for scrubbing what she could with her anti-bacterial hand soap. _All right, the next hot spring or village we pass, I don't care how much Inuyasha complains, I'm taking a bath!_ she thought as she scrubbed vigorously. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned and saw Kohaku coming toward her. "Need something, Kohaku?"

"Just a moment of your time, if that's all right, miko," he answered.

"You don't have to call me miko all the time. My name's Kagome."

"Thank you, Kagome. It's about Sango. If you can't take the shard in my back without killing me, could you help Sango? She'll be upset; she wanted for us to be a family again."

"Sure, I'll do that. You know, Sango isn't the only one who wants you to stay."

"Really?"

"Really. I do, for one. You're a nice kid, and helpful. And I think you and Shippo will get along well, since you're closer in age to him than we are. Well, maturity wise, anyway."

He looked like he was about to say something, but the sounds of people awakening came from their makeshift camp. He turned to where Sango was waking up, and smiled. "Thank you for giving my sister hope." He turned and went to his sister.

_Now, we have to get Koga's jewel shards, and Kohaku's._ "Hey, guys," she said aloud to Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku. "We might as well decide now what we're doing next. Do we want to try and get Kohaku's shard at the village, get Koga's, or should we try and find the missing shard?"

Miroku shrugged. "I think we should get Koga's first, so he doesn't lose them. We already know where he is, so we might as well try there first."

Sango nodded. "I agree with the monk. We might as well get the ones we know about first, then look for the missing one."

Kagome smiled. "Okay, there's two for going for Koga's first. Kohaku, did you want to add you thoughts on it?"

He shook his head. "We can go for the other two, as you want. I just wish to complete the whole Jewel. But what about Inuyasha? What does he want to do?"

They all looked at the sleeping hanyou. "I don't think he cares at this point," answered Kagome. "He'll probably go if we ask him, but I doubt he'll really care. Let's just start to pack up, and I'll tell him. Sango, can you get Shippo and Kirara up?"

As Sango went over to the fire kitsune and the fire neko, Kagome walked over to Inuyasha. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she shook him gently. "Hey, Inuyasha, it's time to go. We're going to get Koga's Jewel shards."

Sleepily, he opened his eyes. She could see the exact moment he remembered what had happened because his eyes clouded over with sorrow. "Inuyasha," she said, "it wasn't your fault. She was supposed to be dead anyway. You can move on."

"I was supposed to die with her," he whispered. "I promised her we would be together."

"You made that promise 50 years ago! She wouldn't want you to kill yourself because of her! She would want you to live. Now she's gone for good, and you can live in the present, not the past. Stay with us, we still need you."

"Why? The Shikon Jewel is complete. There's no reason to stay."

"You're wrong! There are plenty of reasons to stay. And," she paused for a second, "the Jewel isn't complete. We still need Koga's and Kohaku's…"

"Yeah, so? You can just take the shard from Kohaku's back, and if you ask Koga for his shards, he'll give them to you. He's infatuated with you, so that'll be no problem."

"You didn't let me finish. Yes, we need Koga's and Kohaku's, but there's still one missing. We don't have the whole thing."

That was enough of a shock that became his old self for a moment. "What! What are we waiting around here for then, wench? We have to go!"

A vein formed on her head, and she stood and said sweetly, "Inuyasha?"

"Uh-oh." He knew what was coming.

"Sit!" His subduing rosary glowed briefly, and he slammed into the ground. "While you were asleep, we decided to go after Koga first, go to Kaede and get Kohaku's shard, and then we look for the other shard."

"Hmph! Fine then. Let's go. The sooner we get to Koga's, the better. I'll beat the life out of the wolf!"

"Sit!" Down he went. Again. "You'll do no such thing. You said so yourself, he'll give over the shards willingly. He has no use for them, so there's no need to fight."

"Feh!"


	3. Chapter 3

As they approached Koga's lair, Inuyasha was silent again, reliving Kikyo's death, probably both of them. Kagome decided to leave him alone, and rode Kirara with Sango. Miroku was fascinated by her bicycle, and was having the time of his life trying to learn to ride it. "Kagome?" asked Sango, "do you really think that Koga will hand over the shards? After all, he could make his pack the strongest one in the area with just one, and he has two."

"He already offered them to me earlier. I didn't want to take them because he needed them more than we did at the time. Look, there it is."

The guard on duty recognized Kagome and called, "Sister Kagome, you've returned!"

Sango looked at Kagome strangely. "They only call me that because Koga claimed me as his "woman". I'm not really related to them. Really."

Kirara stopped, and Sango and Kagome got off. They all looked toward the cave entrance where Koga was coming to meet them. "Kagome," he called, ignoring the rest of them, "so good of you to come again."

"Koga, we need the Shikon shards in your legs. We're sort of in a hurry. I'm sorry, but we can't stay and chat."

"Oh, no, that won't do. Stay, please, be my guests. And, Kagome, could you come with me for a second?"

"Sure," she responded, ignoring the death glares sent their way by Inuyasha.

As the rest of the group was herded into the den, Koga and Kagome walked along the bank of the river. The waterfall sent a mist around them, cooling the hot air.

"Kagome, I have something to tell you," Koga said.

"Koga, you know I can't stay with you," began Kagome, but Koga interrupted her.

"It isn't about that. Well, it is, but I'm not asking you to stay."

That threw Kagome off. "What!"

"I'm sorry, Kagome. Ayame came, and I did promise her that I would be her mate. I wanted to stay with you, and there will always be a place for you in my heart. However, her pack and mine combined is an unbeatable force. She doesn't want me to give up the Jewel shards; she wants at least one for herself, but I still have both. I want you to have them, as an apology. I wanted to spend my life with you, but—"

"I understand, Koga. But I don't want you to get in trouble with your new mate because of me."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be all right, just take the shards now and leave in the morning before she's up."

"When does she normally get up? We've just fought Naraku, and we're still not fully recovered."

"Normally, she doesn't get up until six in the morning."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Six in the morning! We can't get up that early! Even if some of us could, I know that Shippo can't, I'm not sure about Kohaku, and I know for a fact that Miroku and Sango are grouchy at eight in the morning, so I'm pretty sure that they won't be very happy to sneak out at four or five in the morning!"

"Don't worry. I think I can distract her so she won't be getting up earlier than at least noon." He grinned at her. She sweat dropped, and backed up a few paces.

"Um, okay, you do that. I guess I won't be seeing you tomorrow morning, then."

He held out his hand, and when she held out hers, he dropped his jewel fragments into it. "These are yours now."

"Thank you, Koga, and I wish you happiness in your marriage. Do you think she'll forgive you for giving these to me?"

"She will eventually." He gave that grin again, and she sweat dropped again. "Let's get back to the others, and let Dog-Breath know you're okay."

"Oh, Koga," she said. "Don't be hard on him. You remember that woman with Naraku, the one who wanted to kill him?"

"Which one?"

"The miko, the one Inuyasha had loved 50 years ago."

"Yes, why?"

"She was killed by Naraku, and he's torn up about it. Please leave him alone."

"Only for you, Kagome."

They rejoined the rest of her group, and Inuyasha stayed by her side from that point on. They ate dinner with the wolves; Kagome made sure that the wolves cooked the food given to the humans, a foreign concept to the wolves ("It ruins the flavor of the meat, though."). Kagome stayed on Koga's left side, while Ayame was on his right. Ayame kept throwing jealous glares at Kagome, because that was the human-_HUMAN_- that HER Koga had chosen over her only a little while ago.

After dinner, they were shown their guest caves. Sango, Kagome, Kirara, and Shippo would share a lair, while Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kohaku shared another one. After the guide left, Kagome told them that they needed to be out of the wolves' den by noon at latest. After agreeing to be out by eight the next morning, they said good night, and went to their respective rooms.

The next morning, they packed their things, said good-bye to the guard on duty, and ran before Ayame's wrath could reach them when she woke. They reached their village that night, since they didn't stop running all day. Kagome and Shippo had to ride on Inuyasha's back while he carried her bike, and Miroku, Sango, and Kohaku rode Kirara.

They all sort of fell through the door of Kaede's hut, waking her. "Well, it seems that ye survived the battle with Naraku. And," she looked at Kohaku, "ye picked up another companion."

"This is Kohaku, Sango's younger brother. He was under Naraku's control. Which brings me to the good news we have. We destroyed Naraku, finally," said Miroku tiredly.

"Are ye sure? Ye've thought the same before, and still he lived."

This time I'm positive. His heart was destroyed by Kagome, and," he paused for a moment before adding "my Wind Tunnel is gone."

Everyone congratulated him. Miroku himself looked so happy that he could dance if he wasn't falling over from exhaustion. When things began to quiet down, Kagome was hit with a strong need to be with her family. _I need to be with them. I can't tell them what happened, but I have to go home!_ "I need to go home," she announced and stumbled toward the door.

"Are ye not exhausted, child?" asked a concerned Kaede. "Ye can return home tomorrow."

"I need to be with them. Besides, I need to be clean! I'll come back tomorrow; I just have to be with my family right now."

"Very well. Do ye need help getting to the Bone Eater's Well?"

"No, I can make it. Good night, everyone."

After murmurs of "Good night, Kagome" were given in varying degrees of sleepiness, she began the trek to Inuyasha's Forest and the Bone Eater's Well. She jumped down, and was surrounded by the familiar purple glow. When the glow faded, she started to climb out of the well. It took five tries, but she finally succeeded in reaching the top. Hearing the patter on the roof of the well house, she sighed. _Looks like I'm going to be wet and tired. How lovely._ She used the walls to support her and pulled them to move forward. Glancing outside, she shuddered. _It looks like a flash flood, except we live on top of a hill, and can't get swamped._ She threw herself out the door, and fell on her face. _Great. Just great. Now I really need a bath._

She knew she was near the giant Goshinboku, so she reached for one of its roots to pull herself up. Instead of a root, however, she found an arm. Surprised, she jerked her head up. She saw before her a girl about her age. She was badly injured, but she was still breathing. _What happened to this person?_ she thought in concern. _I can't leave her out here. She needs help. _Kagome didn't want to hurt the girl, but if she didn't yank her along, she wouldn't be able to make it to the house. It was her younger brother Sota who finally got them both in. He happened to look out the window and see them when a flash of lightening lit up the whole area. It was dumb luck; the Goshinboku was not near the house, and he had to be near the back window to see it. He yelled for their mom and grandpa to get Kagome and "a strange person". Not expecting Kagome home so soon, they ran out and carefully took both girls inside.

"Thanks Mom, Grandpa," said Kagome wearily. "I don't know how I could have gotten her in here by myself."

"It's all right, dear," her mom answered. "What happened? Normally you don't come home until more time has passed. Did something happen? And who is this?"

"That's right! I want to know who stays in this house, whether they're from the present or the Feudal Era!" said her grandpa forcefully.

"I don't know who she is," answered Kagome, looking at the unconscious person lying across some wooden chairs. "I found her when I came out of the Bone Eater's Well. She was at the base of the Goshinboku. That's all I know."

"Well," her mom said briskly, "she needs to be washed, and it looks like she's hurt. Kagome, you wash upstairs, and I'll bathe her down here. Grandpa, do you think you could prepare a guest room for her?"

"Wait a minute, dear," said Grandpa. "What if she's a demon? I don't want any strange demon in the house! But it's not safe to turn her loose, either. I must ward the room she'll be staying in, and I must give you charms to ward off her evil!"

"Oh please, Grandpa," Kagome said crossly while rolling her eyes. "She doesn't have a demonic aura. She's not a demon." _Besides, you charms and ofudas don't even work._ Leaving a fuming Grandpa behind, Kagome went to soak herself, and her mom to wash the injured stranger. As Kagome sank into the tub after washing most of the grime and blood off with a quick shower, she sighed. _This is Heaven. I might as well enjoy it now, since I won't be able to tomorrow. Oh! I need to restock on chocolate and ramen noodles._ As the water began to cool, she got out, prepared to go to sleep, and fell onto the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was dead to the world.

&&


	4. Chapter 4

Robin slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was being about to die by a giant tree, and it was wet and dark. Now, she was still wet, but it was warm water, and there was light. _Am I dead?_ she wondered. She was no longer in excruciating pain, but there was a dull ache in her shoulder, and her legs were sore.

"Oh, you're awake," she heard a voice say. "We were worried about you. You were quite a mess when we brought you in."

"Where am I?" she managed to croak.

"You are at the Higurashi Shrine in Tokyo," the voice said.

Robin sighed. _I made it. But how long do I have?_ A horrible thought occurred to her. _What if this person works for Solomon?_ She dismissed is as soon as she thought of it. _No, it couldn't be. This person wouldn't be caring for me, then._ She then woke up enough to realize that the speaker was a kind-looking woman, that they were in a large bathroom, and she herself was in a tub full of soapy, warm water. She also realized that she had no clothes on, and the woman was gently cleaning the spot where the Orbo bullet had grazed her.

As if the woman could read her mind, she said, "Your clothes were in shreds. But don't worry; you can borrow some of my daughter's clothes. You look like you're the same height and build."

"Thank you, ma'am," whispered Robin.

"Sssh," soothed the woman. "You shouldn't talk much. What you need is rest."

Robin managed to stay awake while the woman, Mrs. Higurashi, bathed her, feeling self-conscious the whole time. But Mrs. H was quick, and in 10 minutes she was out of the tub and into a t-shirt and shorts. Mrs. H half dragged/half led her into a bedroom. "This is where you'll stay for tonight. My room is down the hall and to the right."

"Thank you, ma'am. You've been very kind to me. I will try to repay you somehow."

"Oh, hush. I don't need to payment. You were hurt and needed help, so my family and I helped, and we'll continue helping as long as we can."

"God bless you and your family," said Robin without thinking. Realizing what she had said, and where she was, she immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I forgot where I was. This is a Shinto shrine, right?"

Mrs. Higurashi waved her apology aside. "It's fine. Even though we live in a Buddhist shrine, we're Christian, except for my father-in-law. He's Buddhist, but the rest of us are Christian."

Mrs. H put Robin on the bed. "I told you where my room is if you need anything. Is there something you need now?"

"Where's my phone? It might sound strange, but I need it."

"I'll have Sota, my son, bring it in here. Is that it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"All right. Good night."

"Good night, ma'am."

&&

Kagome woke still feeling tired, but her miko powers were recharged. She dressed quickly and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Her mom was already up, and had made breakfast and restocked her backpack. "Good morning, baby," she greeted her daughter. "Are you more rested now?"

"Yeah, thanks, Mom," she replied as she ate. "Did you find out who that girl was?"

"Not really. She didn't have much energy left for talking once she woke up. But she's a sweet and polite girl. I wonder how she got into that condition. Her being so injured, I mean."

"I don't know. But I don't have time to worry about it. I'll be back soon. Bye." She put her dishes in the sink, grabbed her enormous bag, and dragged it outside to the well.

Once on the other side she threw her bag to the top (it took lots of practice, and a large amount of arm strength), and she climbed out with more ease than yesterday. Picking up her backpack, she hurried towards the village. _The sooner we get Kohaku's shard, the sooner we can go looking for the new shard._ The villagers were already up and going about their day as usual. They waved as she passed, and continued what they were originally doing. She slowed down as she approached Kaede's hut, and entered through the beaded door. Sango and Kohaku were talking quietly, as were Miroku and Kaede. Shippo, Kirara, and Inuyasha weren't in that room. "Where's Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kirara?" she asked.

"Shippo and Kirara left about 5 minutes ago," said Miroku at almost a whisper.

"And Inuyasha?"

Sango answered this time. "He's still asleep. After you left, he sort of went into depression mode and went straight to sleep. We figured it would be best if we let him sleep for as long as possible."

"I see." She sighed. "Well, at least he won't be telling us to go after the missing jewel shard. Let's get started with Kohaku; maybe we can finish before he wakes up."

The all turned to Kaede. "What do we do?" asked Kagome.

"First, Kohaku must drink this potion," Kaede said, holding up a cup. "It will put him to sleep, and he won't be in pain."

Kohaku obediently took the cup from her and drained it. Sango caught him as he collapsed. While she was laying him on the floor, Kaede turned to Kagome, saying, "Ye must take the shard from his back and purify it when I tell ye."

Speaking to Miroku and Sango, she said, "Be ready to stem the flow of blood. It is possible that he could bleed to death if it isn't stopped." They nodded and got near the comatose 11 year-old with bandages and Kagome's antiseptic wipes. Satisfied that everything was ready, the old miko nodded to Kagome. "Now take the shard."

She swallowed and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She knelt by him and put his head on her lap. Leaning forward, she put her hand over the shard. She tensed, then pulled it out, her touch purifying the evil inside it. As they watched, his wounds opened and started to bleed freely. But as soon as the opened, Miroku, Sango, or Kaede was on top of it, rubbing antiseptic towels on them and bandaging them. After long minutes of bleeding and bandaging, it was done. Kohaku himself didn't move or make a sound throughout the whole process, even though he now looked like a living mummy.

Sango, Miroku, and Kagome went outside after they had scrubbed the blood from the floor and themselves. Kaede stayed inside with Kohaku to make sure nothing happened that would hinder his recovery. They were just looking at nothing, each lost in their own thoughts. Kagome finally broke the silence. "Now we only need one shard. But I don't think we should go anytime this week."

"Why is that?" asked Miroku.

"We should probably wait until Kohaku recovers, so he can help. If he wants to stay here, then that's fine, but we also have Inuyasha to worry about. You said he was depressed again, right?" At Miroku's not, she continued. "He needs time to get over Kikyo's death. Again. He may not know it, but I think it will be for the best. And it gives everyone a chance to recover from that fight with Naraku. What do you two think? Is that a good plan?"

Miroku nodded his agreement. Sango looked out over the village for a few more seconds before turning to Kagome, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "We will wait." That was all she said. _She's probably thinking about her old village,_ Kagome thought sadly. _Only she and Kohaku are left of the Demon Slayers Clan._ She noticed that Miroku was moving to where Sango stood. _He'll break her out of that mood_ she thought. Smiling slightly, she left them and went to look for Shippo. She found him playing with some other children in the village with Kirara keeping an eye on them. Kirara glanced at Kagome, then returned her attention back to her charges. Shippo spotted her and ran over. "Kagome! Did you take Kohaku's shard?"

She picked up the young fire kitsune and said, "Yes, we took his shard. He's resting now in the hut."

Is Inuyasha up yet?"

"I don't think so. I'll go check, but you can stay here and play if you want. I just wanted to see you."

Shippo chose to stay with the other children, so she walked back alone. It was then that she heard a gasp, the sound of a slap that could be heard for miles, and the scream of "Hentai!" that was heard all over Japan. Shaking her head, she walked in on a familiar scene. Sango, looking like a mad bull, had her giant boomerang Hiraikotsu out and was standing over an unconscious Miroku, who had a smile on his mouth and a large handprint on his face.

"Th-th-that LECHER!" Sango screamed.

"Sango, I know what he did was wrong, but do you really want to wake up Kohaku and Inuyasha?" inquired Kagome.

Since she really didn't want a grumpy hanyou on her back or a still injured Kohaku to wake up, she grumbled and sent death-glares toward the still knocked-out Miroku. Kagome shook her head again and entered the semi-dark hut. When her eye adjusted to the light, or lack thereof, she went through the beaded door to where she and the others stayed. Only Inuyasha was there now, which was strange in itself because normally he slept on the roof unless it was raining. She quietly tiptoed over and sat next to him. He looked like he could be awake with his eyes closed. He was in a sitting position with his back against the wall. She shook his shoulder gently and whispered, "Hey, Inuyasha, it's time to get up."

He opened his eyes, eyes still not quite awake. Kagome loved how he looked when he's not really awake. He looked calm and at peace with himself. Too bad that look never lasted very long. The pain re-entered his eyes, and he asked gruffly, "Something you need?"

Kagome answered him, "I thought you might want to know that Kohaku's shard is out, and he's resting in the other room. Also, Sango, Miroku, and I have agreed to wait awhile before looking for the last jewel shard. Now, here me out," she ordered when he opened his mouth. "Sango will either stay here with Kohaku or she'll be thinking about him the entire time and not be as alert as she normally would be. So we have to wait for him to get better. Or, at least past the dangerous stage of recovery."

"I see I'm outnumbered," he huffed. "Fine, we'll stay until Kohaku is better. Happy?"

"Thank you, Inuyasha." _He's so easy to manipulate._

"Hey, Kagome?" His voice went soft. "Why are humans so fragile? Why do they die so soon and so easily?"

_Oh, great, he's depressed again._ "That's how we're made. We're mortal, so die more easily than a demon. It's also for that reason we enjoy life more. It comes and goes so quickly, we can't afford to waste out time while we're here."

"I see." Slowly, he stood and walked out of the hut with Kagome. He stayed with her for the rest of the day. He refused to let her out of his sight. Sango and Miroku, who had finally woken up, noticed this and smiled.

This continued for the rest of the week, and the next month. He would only leave her when she was bathing, but he was still always close by. The first time she had any break from him was when there was a call from a neighboring village that a demon was wreaking havoc on them. Sango and Miroku dragged him with them, saying, "If you don't keep up your fighting skills, how will you get the last Shikon shard?"

Kagome sighed as she watched them go. "Kaede, why does Inuyasha keep following me?" she asked the aged miko at her side. Instead of her normal school uniform she was in a kimono; her clothes were all waiting to be washed and she hadn't gotten around to doing laundry recently.

"Probably he thinks that if you leave his sight for a moment too long, ye'll disappear forever, just as my elder sister Kikyo did, once 50 years ago, and once just a few weeks ago. He's scared, I think. He really loves you, and doesn't want to lose you, too."

"He doesn't love me. Not like that. He gave his heart to Kikyo a long time ago, and there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Nonsense, child. He does love you. He felt like he was obligated to stay with Kikyo while she remained on this earth. However, since she has met her demise once again, he is free to do as he will."

"But he feels like he has to stay with her in death. I don't care if he loves her, but I want him to live and be happy. That's what I've always wanted."

"Believe me, he does want to stay. He may feel that he must follow Kikyo because that is what he believes she wants. When he realizes that she would want him to live, and not die because of her, he will stay."

"How will he find out?"

"If I must, I'll tell him tonight. I knew my sister better than anyone else. I know she wouldn't want him to die because he felt obligated to. She would want him to live."

"Then why was she always trying to drag him to hell with her all the time?"

"When you took back your soul, a small part was left in her body of clay. I believe that the part of your soul that stayed was the one with the hate and malicious feelings. She so hated Inuyasha that she was able to keep that part of your soul. And that is what influenced her actions. She never would have done those things if she had more than a malicious soul, or part of one."

"I see. What if he still wants to go? What then, Kaede?"

"He won't. But, you could help by making him want to stay. I know you love him as he loves you." This statement caused Kagome to have a blushing fit. Kaede smiled and continued. "Give him a reason to stay, and he will. He is not like that impudent pup you met two years ago."

"He has matured. It was gradual, so I never saw it, but you're right. He was a brat when I first met him. I was probably a brat, too, being only thirteen." (A/N: I know she was fifteen when they met, but this can be a bit AU. I just like it better this way. And I can do this because I have authoress powers!)

"You both have matured a lot since you started looking for the Shikon Jewel shards."

They both would have gone on talking, but Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango came back just then. Inuyasha, as usual, was complaining about it being a weak demon, and how they didn't really need him to exterminate that weak a demon, and so on. Behind him, Sango and Miroku were trying not to laugh because everything he said was true, and they knew it. However, he never got to the true reason of them dragging him away from the village. He needed to get out and enjoy the scenery, and he needed to get away from Kagome for a while.

Kaede greeted them and said to Sango and Miroku, "I have a favor to ask of ye. Come inside the hut, and I will tell ye what ye need to know to find it."

They agreed and followed her into the hut. That left Kagome and Inuyasha, who had gone quiet when Kaede started to speak. Kagome walked to him and asked, "Inuyasha, will you walk with me?"

Not expecting this, he nodded dumbly. "Okay, let's go."

They passed the villagers again on their way to the Goshinboku. Neither of them said anything, but there was no need; being in the presence of the other was enough. Reaching the Goshinboku, she made to sit down on one of its roots, but Inuyasha grabbed her waist and jumped into the tree's high branches. Startled, she clung to him, knowing he wouldn't drop her, but not sure that this would be the time he did. He put her on a branch and sat facing her. She looked at him and smiled. _He looks so cute like that._ She giggled as she thought it. He only looked at her strangely.

"Something you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"Oh, not much in particular," she answered. "It's just been a while since the two of us were alone since the others paired up with us."

"Oh." More silence. Then, "Kagome, I don't know what I should do. You know, about Kikyo." He looked away from her. "In a way, I still love her. When she was alive, she was the only one who cared for me after my mother passed away. Now that she's dead, I don't know what to do."

"Inuyasha," said Kagome softly, "I've learned some things about her that I think you should know. I spoke with Kaede when you were gone to the other village. She knew Kikyo better than any of us, including you. She said that Kikyo wouldn't want you to kill yourself because of her. I know she tried to drag you to hell, but that wasn't the real her. When I recalled my soul, she retained the malicious part of it because of her hatred for you and what she thought you had done. Her actions were influenced by the bad part of my soul; that's why she did all those things. She never meant for you to die because of her. She wanted you to live!"

He was silent for a moment. Then, softly, so soft that she almost missed it, she heard him say, "That sounds like the Kikyo I knew and loved once." His hands curled into fists in his lap. Kagome leaned over and covered one of them with one of her own hands. Her sad eyes looked deeply into his troubled ones.

"Please, Inuyasha, stay here." There was no doubt what she was talking about. "We all want you to stay. We would all miss you." Still he said nothing. "Inuyasha, will you stay with us?"

He finally responded. "I don't know, Kagome. I would like to stay, but I can't promise anything. What if…" He trailed off.

"What if what?" she asked.

He hesitated, and said quietly, "What if you don't stay? When the Shikon Jewel is complete, what's to keep you from staying in your time?"

This surprised her. "You weren't sure if I'd stay after the Jewel is complete? Inuyasha! I'd keep visiting if I could because you're my friends. I wouldn't abandon you after we finished our quest for the shards."

"But you wouldn't stay," he muttered.

"Inuyasha, are you asking me to leave my time to stay here with you?" He had nothing to say; or rather, he didn't say anything.

"Inuyasha, you would be asking me to leave my family behind. Could you leave your mother if she were still alive?"

He sighed. "You see why I can't promise to stay. You'll find someone, and you won't come back here anymore."

_Did he just admit he cared about me?_ "Inuyasha, I don't know what to say. Even if I found someone, there's no one in this world that could stop me from coming back. Besides, you're the only one for me. There is no one else."

He looked shocked to hear that. "I didn't know you cared that much."

She laughed. "I loved you from the moment I saw you pinned to this very tree. It hurt every time you went to Kikyo, but I only wanted you to be happy, so I never said anything."

"If I knew that you were that hurt by me seeing her-"

She interrupted him. "You wouldn't stop seeing her. You still loved her more than you loved me."

He looked down. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I never meant to hurt you. Will you forgive me?"

"I always have. There's no reason to not do so now. I only want you to be happy."

"What if I want you to stay?"

"It depends on how long."

He suddenly moved forward and held her in a hug. "Kagome, what if I wanted you stay with me, to be my mate?"

She held him. "I can stay with you, though not always. I do have to finish school and see my family. Being your mate, though…" He held his breath. "I would love to be your mate, but in my time, I won't be ready for another three years. I don't know if you want to wait that long."

"I could wait for eternity for you, Kagome. If you want, you could be my mate in name, and in three years, we could really be mates. Is that what you want?"

"If you can wait that long, then that's exactly what I want. Did you want to tell the others?"

"I think they already know. They'll figure it out soon anyway."

"I won't tell my family because they'll flip. Grandpa will be worried about having demon great-grandchildren, Mom will be upset that I didn't consult her before agreeing, and Sota will just wonder when his nieces and nephews will be coming. But I don't know how we can keep this quiet. I feel like I'm about to explode I'm so happy!"

He hugged her a little tighter, signaling that they were about to jump off the branch. He let go of her waist when they landed, but latched onto her hand instead. That was how they walked back to the village.

Sango and Miroku noticed before they let their hands fall away from each other, but said nothing, Sango because she didn't want to destroy the moment and Miroku because Sango would knock him silly if he said anything. That night, Kagome slept in his arms. Still, the other two adults said nothing, and Shippo took his cues from them.

The following morning, Kagome started packing. In response to their queries, she said, "I've been away from home too long. I have to let them know I'm all right. I'll be back soon."

For maybe the first time, Inuyasha didn't make a big fuss when she left. He walked with her to the well. "Good bye, Kagome."

"Bye, Inuyasha, I'll be seeing you soon. I promise." She jumped down the well and went the present.

&&


	5. Chapter 5

&&

Robin had been there for a month. The Higurashi family had been very nice to her and let her stay. It was almost like she was part of the family now. She had yet to see Mrs. Higurashi's daughter, Kagome, but that was all right. Robin got along well with the other members of the family just fine; she suspected she would like Kagome as well.

She frowned as she remembered the attack last night.

−Flashback−

She had been shopping for food since they were running out of certain things that were considered "must-haves". She was walking back late that night and the sound of a pistol being fired was heard. She instinctively fell and rolled. A smoking hole where her head would have been was formed in the tree in front of where she had stood.

Still holding the groceries, she ran as quietly as she could away from the tree and a little away from her original destination. Apparently she wasn't quiet enough. Another shot was fired at her. She gave up on being quiet and ran like she did a month ago. Somehow, she must have lost him because there were no more shots fired at her. When she arrived at the Higurashi Shrine, she looked down in surprise to see that none of the groceries had been lost. She never said anything to the Higurashis, and they never asked. Robin didn't think they even noticed.

−End Flashback−

She had called Nagira, like he told her to, and he was being watched, like he said. Now he knew she was alive, but he couldn't help her. "I'm sorry, Robin," he had said. "You're on your own for now. I'll try to help, but I don't think I'll be able to for a while." So she was stuck, but at least she had shelter and had a family that would take care of her. She worked at the Higurashi Shrine for them so that their workload was a bit smaller, and she felt like she was being useful. She was sweeping the one of the walkways when she heard a door creak open and a girl with a gigantic backpack come out of the well house.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" she called to the girl.

She jerked around and stared at Robin. "Who are you?" she asked, sounding surprised.

"I live here. I can probably help you find your way if you're lost. It's easy to lose your way in this place."

The girl looked at her suspiciously. "Isn't this the Higurashi Shrine?"

"Yes, it is," replied Robin, still wondering how this girl got into the well house, since Grandpa had forbidden her to go within five feet from its walls.

"You aren't a Higurashi, are you?" asked the suspicious girl.

"No, the Higurashis took me in, and now I live here and work for them. But who are you, who ask all these questions?"

"Oh, forgive me. Watashi wa Higurashi Kagome desu."

"I am Robin Sena."

The girl looked hard at her for a second, then asked, "Were you the injured girl we found about a month ago?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, I'm glad you're okay. I found you, and my brother Sota called for my mom and my Grandpa to get us."

"So you're Kagome. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. You're family has been very kind to me."

Kagome let her backpack drop to the ground. "Nice to meet you. Sorry I haven't been home in a while. I've been busy and haven't been able to get home."

"Yes, your grandfather told me that you were on a trip to the United States for part of the summer. He wasn't sure when you'd be home. They'll be glad you're finally back."

Kagome seemed to get nervous when she brought up her trip. _Maybe I wasn't supposed to know._ "I'll take your bag for you, and tell your family you've returned."

A little too quickly she said, "No, that's all right, I'll get it. You go ahead and tell them."

Puzzled about why Kagome didn't want to tell her family herself, Robin went to inform the other Higurashis that their daughter and onesan had returned. _I guess she's a little tired, and doesn't want a fuss that she's home. But I would think that she'd want to see her family._ Going through the door of the Higurashi home, she announced, "Kagome is home."

Mrs. Higurashi came running, followed closely by Sota and Grandpa. "Where? Where is she?" asked Grandpa. "She's got a lot of explaining to do! Why did she stay away for so long? It's unbelievable!"

This shocked Robin. "Didn't you say she was on a trip to the United States?" she asked curiously.

Mrs. Higurashi answered her. "He means why did she not write. When we have letters, it's like she's here. That's the staying away part."

"Oh," said Robin, still not sure that that was the real meaning of what Ojisan said. _I'll just go with it for now_ she thought.

Just then Kagome herself appeared behind Robin. "Hi, I'm back. It was great in the U. S. It's so different from here."

Her mother put an arm around her shoulders and said firmly, "You can tell me about it in the kitchen while I make dinner." The other members of the family nodded their heads in agreement. Turning to Robin, she said, "You can finish sweeping the path, and by then dinner should be ready."

Clearly a dismissal, she bowed and left. She still wondered about their behavior while she furiously swept the path, trying to finish quickly. _They were acting strangely. I wonder why. Was I not supposed to know something? It's really none of my business, but if Solomon finds me, I have to have as much notice as possible._ Finally finishing, she put the broom away and walked into the house. She washed her hands and meandered towards the kitchen to see if Mrs. H needed any help. She overheard them talking, but she wasn't sure about what. Walking more slowly towards the door, she heard the tail end of the conversation.

"Never stay away that long from now on, young lady," Ojisan said. "We never know if you'll return from that place without something missing, like your sanity."

_What are they talking about?_ she wondered. _She was on a school field trip. Schools don't do this sort of thing very often._ Grandpa was still talking. "I know those poor people need you in those primitive hospitals, but you must always come home sooner than a month! They can wait that long, can't they?"

Kagome answered this time. Well, she assumed it was Kagome, since it was the only voice she didn't recognize. "I didn't have much choice. And I don't work in a hospital, why can't you get it straight? I travel with warriors, and heal them. They happened to hurt themselves very badly, and needed my help longer than usual. Then, when we got back, there were other people that were hurt, and needed to be tended to. They were short on help, so I stayed."

"All right, dear, we understand, just try not to do it again. This conversation needs to wrap up because Robin should be coming soon. Where is she?" asked Mrs. Higurashi.

Taking her cue from Mrs. H, she entered the room and said, "I'm sorry. Did I keep you waiting?"

"Not at all," said Mrs. H. "You're right on time."

They ate and Kagome told of her "stay in the U. S." Robin now knew that she hadn't been on a school trip because of the conversation before she entered the room. Okay, maybe she had gone to the U. S., but it wasn't a school trip. And why was she in the well house? _This is too confusing. I'll just have to find out the round about way and see if Solomon is involved._ She noticed that Mrs. Higurashi wasn't eating anything at all. When Kagome asked her about it, she said, "I've been feeling nauseous lately." Excusing herself, Robin put her dishes in the sink and went to bathe.

&&

Kagome was in her room after she had soaked herself in her bath. _Oh, it feels good to be clean,_ she thought contentedly. Her mother had a different aura than normal, but she ignored it. She was still on a type of high about being engaged to the man, or hanyou, she loved. The only thing she worried about was Robin. She would have to be more careful, but she wouldn't worry about that now. She stared into space for a while, content to think about Inuyasha and how they had come closer over the years. She was still thinking about that when a loud noise downstairs startled her. She glowed purple and her glass of water exploded. Surprised, she looked at the now wet carpet. "How did that happen?" she wondered aloud. The door whipped open, startling her again. This time it was her alarm clock that burst. In the doorway was Robin Sena.

&&

Robin was sitting on her bed, reading a book, when she felt witch power activating. Thinking that a witch had broken in, she dropped her book. It felt like it was coming from the room next to her own, so she threw it open in time to see Kagome glow purple and her clock explode.

"You're the witch?" Robin asked in surprise.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Kagome indignantly.

"I'm sorry, I was merely surprised that you broke your clock and," she glanced at the soaked carpet, "the water glass."

"Yes, I did. I don't know why, or how, and I don't see how it's any of your business." Her whole body was tense.

_She's afraid,_ Robin noted. _She should be._ "That can't happen again. I don't want to frighten you, but if you can't control that, then certain people will come and take you away."

Kagome asked suspiciously, "How do you know this?"

Robin answered sadly, "I knew the people that worked there. But they changed, so I don't see them anymore." _There isn't much point in telling the whole thing._ "I was able to see what they do at work, and I know how they track down a witch. I also know how to gain control over you power so they won't find you as easily."

"How do you know all this?" she repeated.

"They were hoping to recruit me when I was older, so they wanted me to know how things ran. I learned more than they thought I did."

"What do I do?"

"I'll try to teach you. But I'll be limited in what I can do because I don't know what type of power you have."

"Do colors have anything to do with what powers a person has?"

"They could. Yours is purple, right?"

"It was originally pink, but it recently changed. What does that mean?"

_It means you were a Seed, and it was awakened._ "It means you probably have something to do with the dead. Have you communicated with the dead?"

She hesitated, then said, "Yes. I thought I was hallucinating, so I ignored it. They kept coming, so I started talking to them. Then, something happened, and they stopped coming. I still hear them, but they don't come near me. Not much, anyway."

"You're probably making a wall between you and them at times. That's a good thing to do, since some spirits try to harm other beings that are still alive."

"Can you help me?"

"I think so. We know you have ghost-based powers. That's not a common power, so there's most likely a limit on what we can do out of the book, so to speak."

While they were talking, Kagome tried to pick up the broken pieces of her glass. While searching on the carpet, her questioning fingers were met by the sharp edge of a shard of glass. With a wince, she brought her bloodied fingers up to lick the blood off. Then, right before their eyes, purple light surrounded the cuts and healed them.

"How often did that happen?" asked Robin.

"That never happened before," answered the shaken Kagome.

_That poor girl is going to have a nervous breakdown at this rate,_ Robin thought in concern. "That isn't part of the ghost-based power. So apparently you have ghost- and healer-based power. It's strange, though. Healing is normally green."

"Can other people see color?"

"No, only certain witches and people. They're kind of in a class by themselves because they tend to be more powerful than other witches."

"Wait! If only certain types of witches can see color, why can you, if you're not a witch?"

"Well," said Robin, thinking fast, "I guess being around those kinds of witches rubbed off on me. I spent more time studying the witches than the other people, so it affected me and not them."

"Do you think they picked up on my power yet?"

"No, you didn't use them in public. You're fine for now, but be on your guard. I'll try to help you hide it, but not tonight. We both need sleep, especially you since you just got home from the U. S."

Kagome laughed nervously and said, "That's right. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Robin smiled and responded, "Yes. Good night."

"Good night." Just as Robin was about to close the door, she asked hurriedly, "You're sure they won't come barging in tonight?"

Robin shook her head. "They won't. Anything else you wanted confirmed before I leave?"

"No, that's all for now."

&&


	6. Chapter 6

Robin flopped onto her bed. _Why me? This girl has a combination that I've never heard of. But I can't let Solomon get to her. Her family cared for me; now I can repay them._ She glared at the candle, and it burst into flames. Feeling much better, she continued to think about how she was going to teach her "pupil". _How do I do this? Maybe Nagira knows. I know it's dangerous, but I need some advice._ She picked up her phone and dialed his cell phone number. She heard it ring a few times, then he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Nagira! It's me, Robin."

"Oh, hello, Robin."

"I have a problem, can you help me?"

"Sure. But first, where are you?"

"I thought that you didn't want me to say over the phone because it was being bugged."

"Yeah, but this is not my house phone. They can't bug it."

"Yes, Nagira, they can. You don't know Michael like I do. He'll do the impossible just to prove that he can."

"Just trust me, Robin. There is no bug on this phone. Now where are you?"

This set off the danger alarm in Robin's head. "Nagira, I think there is. As much as I trust you, I'm going with my experience for this one."

"All right, then, since you won't tell me where you are, what's your problem? I can't do much, since they're keeping tabs on me, but I'll try to help."

"Well, I think Solomon's catching up to me. I haven't seen them, but I feel them. What should I do?" she lied.

"Stay where you are. Chances are that they'll pass you by." Now she knew he wasn't on her side anymore. Before now, he would have said that she should move to a new location, and order her to not tell anyone.

"Nagira, I'm in a bit of a spot. I don't know where I am. I left Japan, so I'm not familiar with anything around here."

"It'll be fine, Robin. I don't have any words of wisdom for you, but I know you'll be fine." Yep, definitely lying.

"Thanks for talking. It's nice to hear a familiar voice in the middle of strangers."

"Anytime. Call me back, okay?"

"I'll try. I don't know if I can, since I can't talk very long; long distance, you know."

"Your phone isn't affected by long distance calls."

"I lost it when I ran for it. I meant to keep it, I really did, but it slipped somehow."

"Okay, well, it's in the middle of the night here, so I have to say good night."

"Good night, Nagira, even though it's ten o'clock in the morning here."

She hung up and stared at her wall dumbly. _They got him. Amon wouldn't let them do anything to him, so they must have convinced him that I'm a witch._ Deeply saddened, she decided to sleep it off.

When she got up that morning, she started doing her chores mechanically. She had already eaten breakfast and was starting to sweep up the inside of some the buildings that she was allowed in when Kagome came running towards her.

Panting, she asked between gasps, "Are we going to start today?"

"If that is what you want," Robin replied, still sweeping. "I still have chores to do, but I can talk you through what you have to do if you're willing to move when I have to clean a different place."

Kagome nodded her head vigorously. "Okay. Sit down." Kagome sat down. "Now you have to find your center. If you don't stabilize yourself, then you have no control over your power, and it will have terrible results."

"What does a center look like?"

"It should just be a purple fire inside you. It might take a while to find it, so take your time."

It did take a while. They had to move through three buildings before she found it. "Hey, Robin, I think I found my center! It's exactly like you described it."

"That's good. That's half the battle. Every time you need that power, picture that fire, and that will summon it. Eventually you won't even have to think about it; it will happed naturally."

"You sure do know a lot about these powers."

"Like I said, I studied witches more than they knew. I probably know more about them than anyone else does."

"By the way, who exactly are 'they'?"

"'They' are Solomon. It's an organization that hunts and kills witches. The branch that was training me only wanted to catch them, not kill them. It was more humane that way."

"Oh." She was silent, then asked, "Now that I have my center, what's next?"

Robin thought for a moment, then said, "You need experience. For healing, try healing cuts and small injuries, then work towards the harder ones, like sickness and broken bones. I think if you combine your ghost- and healer- powers, you could heal someone on the brink of death, and bring them back to full health. This is only theory; I have no idea if it will really work."

"So I need to use it. Okay, I can do that."

Robin finished the final building and walked with Kagome outside. "That's really all I can do for you. There's only one thing left, and that's defensive. If you want a wall between you and some else, or you and a group of people, witches can make a kind of barrier that nothing can penetrate except special bullets made for that reason."

They rounded a corner and saw Mrs. Higurashi going to greet a man coming up the long stairs to their home. Kagome froze when she saw her mother embrace the man and kiss him. "Who is THAT?" she hissed. "What is he doing with my mom?"

Robin looked at the man, but they were too far away for her to see any details. "I don't know. I've never seen him around here before."

"I know for a FACT that she wasn't seeing anyone a month ago," spat Kagome, her hackles up. "How could she get that far in one month?"

Mrs. Higurashi and the man were walking towards the house, and Robin could finally see what the man looked like. She felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her head. Her eyes widened and she gasped. _It's Kendal!_ Tai Kendal wasn't there the day she was marked as a witch, but he probably knew by now. "Kagome, I do know that man. He works for Solomon. I can't let him see me; he'll recognize me."

"Okay, don't panic. Hide in my room and I'll tell mom that you were out for groceries. I'll find out if Sota and Grandpa know anything about this."

Robin nodded and sprinted towards the back door. She ran up the stairs to Kagome's room and waited with bated breath for Kagome to come with the news.

&&

_So this guy works for Solomon, the one organization I have to avoid at all costs._ Kagome ran towards the house after her mom and the man entered. She opened the door and her mother turned and said, "Kagome, I wanted you to meet someone special. This is Tai Kendal. He lives in England, but was visiting Japan because of business."

"Hello, Kagome," Tai said. "She's told me a lot about you. She's very proud of you, you know."

"Oh, I see," said Kagome faintly. _This guy's from England? Robin said that Solomon branched out, so he must be from the one in England._ "It's nice to meet you. I don't remember you. Did you meet after I went to the U. S.?"

"Kagome was on a school field trip to America. I told you that, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Did you have fun?"

Kagome answered, "Yes, it was fun and I learned things there."

Mrs. Higurashi looked around and asked, "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know; I just got back."

"Oh, drat, I wanted them to meet him."

"It's fine, Misako," Tai soothed her. "I can meet them later, can't I?"

"That's true," she agreed.

"Um, Mom, I'm going upstairs to look for the others, okay?"

"Okay, sweetheart. If you find them, tell them I want them to meet someone."

"Yes, Mom."

Kagome charged up the stairs when she couldn't see them anymore. First she went to Sota's room, where she found him playing one of him video games.

"Sota, did you know mom was seeing someone?" she demanded.

"Yeah, she only met him a month ago, though," he said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Do you know what he does for a living?"

"No, Mom never said, and I've never seen the guy."

"Well, he's downstairs, and Mom wants you to meet him."

Sighing dejectedly, he turned off the game and walked slowly out the door. "Do you know where Grandpa is?" she asked his back.

"No, I think he left for something."

"Thanks, Sota," she called. He waved a hand to let her know he heard her. She then went down a different hall where her room was. She opened the door and Robin leaped up and was in a defensive position before she saw who it was.

"Well, who was it?" asked Robin.

"His name is Tai Kendal from England. He came to Japan on business, and my mom's been seeing him for a month."

"So I was right. Kendal came to the STN-J from England to see how the Japanese did things. His superiors wanted to see if using the Orbo was more efficient than plain bullets."

"Wait, what is STN-J?" asked Kagome in confusion.

"That's what we call the Japanese branch of Solomon."

"How do you know all this? Surely they don't tell all this to trainees, and not even to regular staff."

"Like I said, I learned more than they knew. I didn't find out all that by myself, I had lots of help."

Kagome felt like she was hiding something, but ignored it for the moment. _After all, I'm not telling the truth about the Bone Eater's Well. I'll eventually find out._ She just said, "I don't know if he's staying, but if he is, then you can share my room. We'll move your stuff, and I'll tell my mom."

"Thank you, Kagome. We haven't even known each other for a day, and we're already in trouble."

"Don't mention it. I don't want you to get caught, because even though you say you can't teach me any more than you have, I might come across a problem and you might know the answer.

"You probably don't want to go down to dinner, do you?" Robin shook her head. "Then I'll bring you some food. Just to be on the safe side, I'd move your stuff in here."

"Okay," replied Robin.

"I'll see you in a bit, then."

She went down and saw her mom in the kitchen. "Hey, Mom, how long is he staying here?"

Her mom turned and said, "He's staying here for the rest of the time he's in Japan." Seeing her daughter's look, she laughed and said, "No, it's not that long. He only has a few weeks left. But, I wanted to ask you and Sota something."

Kagome warily asked, "What is it?"

"Well, I'll ask you since you're here, and I'll ask your brother tonight. Well, what do you think of Tai?"

This sounded like the start of a very awkward conversation. "Um, he seemed polite enough. Why?"

Mrs. Higurashi looked down. "He's asked us to move back to England with him."

Kagome looked at her mother in shock. "Mom, you know I'm not going to move to England because of you boyfriend."

"Now, Kagome," said her mother uncomfortably, "he's not exactly a boyfriend."

"Well, what else is he?" Kagome demanded, preparing for the worst.

"He's going to be your new father." It was the worst.

"MOM! You've only known him for a month, and you're already marrying the guy? Aren't you rushing it just a LITTLE bit?"

"Kagome, he's a nice man, and I'm sure he'll be a good father. He's promised to marry me as soon as I want. I just wanted to see what you thought of him before I said yes. I know Sota likes him. They were getting along very well when I came in here to fix dinner, so I don't think he'll object."

"What about Grandpa? He isn't home!"

"He came in soon after you went upstairs. He said that Tai was a nice man, and while he could never replace his son, he would accept him into the family."

Kagome was speechless. "But Mom, how old is he?"

"He's thirty-eight. And don't say that's old or young, since I'm only thirty-seven."

_My mother is getting married. How is she going to react when I tell her I'm engaged myself?_ Instead, she asked, "What will happen to the shrine? We can't keep it if we move."

She sighed and said, "We would have to sell it. Grandpa is quite attached to this place, but he can be convinced to sell it."

_Okay, that's going too far!_ "And what will I do? I wouldn't be able to go back to the Feudal Era."

"Well, dear, we, your Grandpa and I, decided that you spend too much time there anyway. This will do you good, too. You need to spend more time here, and selling this place will keep you here in the present."

"Mom, you can't do this. He seems to be a nice guy, but this is the first time I've met him, and if you sell this place, I will permanently stay in the Feudal Era."

Her mother's demeanor hardened. "You will not, and you know it!"

_She knows I won't. Geez, it's hard having a mother that knows you this well._ Kagome glared at her mother, and said in a voice that would freeze ice, "I'll help you take the food to the table."

She was silent throughout the meal. Tai tried to be nice, but since he was the reason that her mother was making them leave, she just stared at him coldly until he turned and spoke to another person. Surprisingly, Robin's name was never mentioned.

When she had finished all she was going to eat, she excused herself and went to the kitchen to steal some food for Robin. _I can't believe they're basically engaged! What am I going to tell the others? What am I going to tell Inuyasha? I promised I wouldn't leave him, and I don't break promises._ She knocked on the door and said quietly, "Robin? Can you open the door? My hands are full."

The door opened, and Robin took some food from her and set it on the floor while Kagome slammed the door shut. Startled, Robin looked up and asked, "Was it that bad?"

Kagome then proceeded to tell Robin everything, omitting the Feudal Era part of the conversation.

Robin agreed with her completely. "It was too fast to know if it's love. How long is he staying, and are you going with him when he leaves?"

"He's staying for the rest of time he's here, and we're supposed to leave with him in two weeks."

Robin lost her calm composure, and started packing her things as fast as she could. Her sudden flurry of activity confused Kagome. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"If he's staying here, then I can't. He's hunting me, and will either take me back the STN-J or kill me. I'd like to thank your mother for taking care of me, but I have to go."

"Wait! You can't leave. What am I supposed to do?" wailed Kagome.

"That's right, you're a witch now." Robin slapped her head. "It's not safe around here anymore. We have to leave. Right now."

"Why do I have to leave?"

"He may not know you're a witch yet, but eventually he'll find out if you stay under the same roof as him." She started muttering to herself while she paced. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" she said under her breath over and over. "You knew they would eventually find you. Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"You didn't know they would find you this soon, or even at all," Kagome said, trying to get her out of her guilt. "You know what, I'll tell my mom that we're going on a trip for a while, and hopefully, they'll be gone."

"I don't think that will work," said Robin doubtfully. "Besides, don't you have to try and convince your mom to stay here and not sell the place?"

"Yes, but she won't sell it while we're gone. Trust me," she added, seeing Robin's skeptical look. "I have to talk to her right now, but we'll leave tomorrow morning."

Robin started to prepare a mat to stay on for the night while Kagome went to talk to her mom.

As usual, Mrs. Higurashi was found in the kitchen. She turned when she heard footsteps and saw Kagome.

"Is there something you needed?" she asked.

Kagome sat down and said, "Mom, you're jumping in too fast. You know we all need to get to know him before we live in the same house for the rest of our lives."

"Kagome," her mother sighed as she sat facing her daughter, "you don't understand how I feel about Tai. He's caring, loves children, and is willing to adopt you and Sota as his children. Sota doesn't mind; he thinks having Tai for a dad is a good thing. Why can't you see it that way?"

"Mom, even if I liked the guy, I would never call him 'Dad'. I'm sorry, but I can't accept him just yet. I need more time. And another point against him is Robin."

"What does Robin have to do with this?" Mrs. H asked in confusion.

"You know how she was shot when we found her?" Her mom nodded, so Kagome continued. "He works with the people that shot her. He wasn't there when she was shot, but if he was then he would have tried to kill her too."

Shocked, Mrs. H stared at her daughter. "I don't know what to say!" she exclaimed. Kagome thought that she had finally convinced her mom to drop him, when Mrs. H kept talking. "I thought I raised you not to tell lies!"

Kagome's jaw dropped. "I'm not lying!" she shouted.

Mrs. H's face hardened. "I know you don't like him, but making up stories like that is unforgivable. I want you to apologize to him right now!"

"He didn't even hear me!"

"That doesn't matter. You apologize or-"

"Or you'll what?" Kagome interrupted her. "You'll ground me? I'm sorry, Mom, but I won't apologize for saying the truth. I don't like him, and if this is what it does to you, then I'll just stay away from now on. I'll stay in the Feudal Era, and there's not a single thing you can do about it!"

Her mom took a deep breath, trying to lessen the anger in her. It didn't work. She looked at Kagome and said slowly, each word hot with anger, "I have to go with him now. I don't have much choice." Her hands were clenched into fists around her stomach. "We are now attached to each other by something."

Suddenly it all clicked. Her mom's different aura, her not eating, and now this. "Mom," she asked quietly, "how long have you been pregnant?"

She sighed and rubbed her still flat stomach. "It was after the second week. We had too much sake, and we woke up in his apartment. I went to the doctor, and he confirmed it. When Tai found out, he apologized, and later that week, he proposed. I wanted to wait for you to come home before I said anything. So you see why I have to marry him."

"Mom, I see why you think you have to marry him. But what's wrong with him transferring here to work?"

"He doesn't want to leave his home behind, and I don't blame him. If he wants to us to move to his home, then I will."

"And what about me? What if I don't want to live with your new husband?" Kagome knew that she sounded selfish, but if she went away, the Inuyasha would kill himself.

"He is going to be your new father, and I will follow my husband to the ends of the earth!"

_What about me? You're trying to prevent me from being with MY husband-to-be._ "I'm sorry, but I won't let you keep me away from the Feudal Era." She turned to leave. Tossing over her shoulder, she called, "Oh, by the way, Robin and I are going on a little trip." They both knew what that meant. "Don't expect us back anytime soon."

"Kagome, don't you dare," her mother warned, but it was too late. Her daughter had run up the stairs and was stuffing her backpack with Robin's help.

"I have to take everything this time," she panted as she tried to stuff her books into the already overloaded bag. "I'm not coming back, so I might as well take everything."

Robin looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you won't be coming back? They'll miss you, especially Sota."

"He'll have a younger sibling soon enough." She told Robin about the conversation, still omitting the well. Robin understood why Mrs. H was staying with him once she found out she was with his child.

They managed to stuff all of the portable stuff into the bag. They took one look at the heavier stuff, and shook their heads.

"Where are we going?" Robin wanted to know.

Kagome was thinking hard._ I could take her to the Sengoku Jidai. I think that would be the best choice._ Out loud, she said, "We're going to the well house."

Robin shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, my hearing must have been gone for a second. I thought I heard you say we were going to the well house."

"I did."

Robin still looked confused, but didn't say anything. She followed Kagome to the well house and looked at her expectantly. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we jump."

"Jump? Down the well?" Her tone was skeptical.

"Just trust me, jump."

"Okay." Together they jumped out of the present and into the Sengoku Jidai.

&&


	7. Chapter 7

When they had arrived, Kagome chucked her backpack up and over the top of the well and started to climb, since this wasn't anything new to her. Robin took a little longer to adjust. But in the end, she followed Kagome.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"We're in the Feudal Era of Japan," Kagome replied. "I wasn't actually in the US on vacation; I came here."

"I knew you weren't in America, but I didn't think of this. I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"Yeah, it's a bit strange until you get used to it. Come, we can stay at the village where I usually stay. I don't think the others will be up, but we can still find a bed to stay in."

They hauled their stuff up the trail, Kagome leading since she knew the way. She could tell that Robin was surprised; the gasp behind her said what the person didn't. They continued down the trail and past the dark huts where the villagers stayed. Kagome stopped in front of Kaede's hut, but Robin, not expecting her to stop so suddenly, ran into her and they fell in a heap. The noise woke the old miko, and she went out to investigate what was making the racket outside her hut when good people were trying to sleep. She didn't seem very surprised to see two people in a tangle at her doorstep. She was surprised by who it was.

"I was not expecting ye to bring a friend with ye, Kagome," she said as she started a fire.

"Forgive us for interrupting your rest, ma'am," said Robin, ever polite. "I am Robin Sena."

"Welcome, Robin. Normally we don't have visitors this late," Robin blushed, "but since it is Kagome, that is only to be expected. I suppose there is a reason you are back so early," said the shrewd old woman.

They quickly filled her in on what had happened. While she sympathized with them, there was nothing she could do about it.

"Kagome, ye know that if ye leave for good, Inuyasha won't remain in this world."

"I know." She sighed. "I don't see how we can stay, though."

"Sleep on it. Things don't seem quite as impossible in the morning."

"Are they awake, Kaede? If they aren't, then we can just sleep out here. We'll get up before them anyway."

"Very well. I will get the spare mats for you."

When the old miko was gone, Kagome said to Robin, "They're all late sleepers. We'll get up in plenty of time to be cleared up before they even open their eyes."

When Kaede laid out the mats, they shoved the belongings they had taken with them to the side and laid down on the mats. Robin still looked a bit nervous, but Kagome was tired and said a quick "Good night" before falling fast asleep.

When she woke in the morning, she saw that Robin had finally fallen asleep. Looking at the wall where they had thrown their stuff the night before, she sighed, got up, and started to put them in some sort of order. Sometime after she started, Robin woke and, seeing what she was doing, helped her put things back in their proper bags. They heard the sound of the door to the bedroom swish open, and a tired-looking Shippo came out. He didn't even look up, just walked right past them. Kagome stared after him for a minute, then asked indignantly, "So I don't even get a 'Hello Kagome'?"

Shippo did a double take before pouncing on her. "Kagome!" he cried. "You're back! We weren't expecting you back so soon. Normally you stay away for about a week before coming."

She shushed him. "We don't want to wake up the others, do we, Shippo? Remember what happened last time you woke everyone up?"

He swallowed hard as he thought of the chasing and pounding he had gotten from all the others. They were grouchy and hit really hard.

He looked past Kagome and saw a new girl standing in the shadows of the hut. "Who are you?" he asked, his innocent eyes wide with curiosity.

"My name is Robin," she replied. "I'm staying with Kagome for a while."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Shippo," said the young fox. "I was just on my way to see if the other children were up and wanted to play. May I, Kagome?"

She laughed and answered him, "Yes, Shippo, you may. You don't have to ask permission while we're still in the village, you know."

"It's just habit now," he responded and skipped out the door.

Robin said behind Kagome, "I was thinking last night after you went to sleep. What if your mother does sell the shrine?"

Kagome shuddered. "Don't even think about it."

"No, no, I was just wondering. If I said that I knew some people who would buy the shrine, what would you say?"

"It depends on the people. Why?"

"If I could get a hold of some people I knew in Italy, they would probably be interested in something like that. They can afford to own it and not live in it. They would make money because of the tourism, and I could try to convince them to let me stay on as caretaker."

"What about Solomon?"

"These people don't know about Solomon. Few people actually do. I would have to have a different name, but that wouldn't be so bad. And if you wanted to use the well, then you know I won't stop you."

"I don't want to share a roof with that man my mother is infatuated with," Kagome said flatly. "I refuse to do it."

"You could always stay and help me with the shrine. After all, a Higurashi should stay in it. But there's no guarantee that they'll want it. I'll have to think about what I want to say, and I have to wait for them to get back from their trip to South America."

"I see. Well, that's more hope than I had to start with. Thank you for bringing it up, Robin. You've given light to a dark horizon."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Robin finally got bored and asked, "Is it alright to look around the village for a bit?"

"Yeah, but it's easy to get lost, so let's go find Shippo, and he'll show you around."

"I wouldn't want to stop him from playing with the other children," said Robin.

"Don't worry, he's used to it. Besides, he likes doing stuff like that."

They found Shippo with Kirara supervising again. Kagome introduced Robin to Kirara so that the fire neko wouldn't attack her. She then asked Shippo to take Robin on a tour of the village, which the child was very happy to do. Maybe a little too enthusiastic, but he was like that about everything. Leaving Robin with the hyper kitsune, she went back to the hut to wait for the others to wake up.

Arriving at her destination, she was in the door just before Miroku came out. He didn't realize it was her and seeing a pretty girl he didn't recognize, he magically appeared before her and clasped her hand, saying, "Excuse me, my dear, but would you please bear my child?"

Unfortunately for him, Sango heard him and rushed out, proceeded to beat him with Hiraikotsu, then growled at Kagome, since she didn't see her, "Please forgive this lecherous monk; he's already taken."

Kagome answered cheerfully, "That's okay, I already knew that."

Both Sango and Miroku cried, "Kagome!" and rushed over to her.

"We weren't expecting you back so soon," Sango said.

"I know, that's what Shippo told me," she replied.

Miroku looked sheepish and said, "I do apologize for not recognizing you, Kagome. I wasn't fully awake yet."

"I figured as much," she said. "You know it's a good thing Inuyasha didn't see you do that."

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, he made it clear that I would be a dead man if I ever tried that again with you the first time we met. I remember it well."

"Just to let you guys know, I've brought a friend with me. Her name is Robin. She's being shown the village by Shippo right now, so I don't know when they'll be back."

"I see. Houshi-sama and I need to find some herbs for Kaede today. We might as well go right now. This promises to be a hot day, and if we don't want to be burned, we had better go now. Coming, Miroku?"

"Coming, Sango-dear." She left the hut and he followed.

_Now either Inuyasha was sleeping on the roof, he slept in the forest, or he's still asleep in the room._ Walking into their sleeping room, she found that the last thought was the right one. _That lazy hanyou! He's getting old! Sleeping in isn't like him. Oh, well. I'll just have to get him up myself._ Feeling like she had done this only two days ago, she sat down next to him. This time he was stretched out on the floor and was sleeping like a normal person did.

"Inuyasha, it's time to get up." He didn't move. She shook him and said again, "Get up lazy bones, the day won't wait for you."

After five minutes, he groggily opened one eye. His eye met hers, and he murmured, "This isn't real. I'm still dreaming."

She smiled wickedly and got up to open the window. He groaned in pain and covered his eyes as the sunlight hit them.

"Oy, what was that for, wench," he shouted, his arm still over his eyes.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "Don't call me 'wench'!" she yelled back at him.

This began their usual shouting match. The villagers all learned to ignore it, and went about their business. In Inuyasha's Forest, where Sango and Miroku were looking for Kaede's herbs, they heard the shouting competition clearly. They just shook their heads and Miroku sighed, "Things are back to normal."

&&

Robin had been following the ka kitsune the entire day. She was introduced to everyone in the village and he showed her just about everything that was within its borders. Her head was swimming at the end of the day. When Shippo returned them to the hut, there were three more strangers by Kagome. They all looked at Robin and Shippo when they entered. They were dressed differently than the other villagers, so she knew she didn't meet any of these people.

""I showed her everything," Shippo announced proudly. "And she met everyone in the village."

"I don't recall meeting anyone new," remarked Miroku.

"Nor do I," added Sango.

"Oh." Shippo seemed to deflate, but then he glared at them, saying, "You weren't in the village! Last night I heard Kaede asking you to look for herbs, and you both said you would look tomorrow."

Miroku looked at him guiltily and said, "You caught us. We were in Inuyasha's Forest the whole day." Sango nodded confirmation to his statement.

Kagome was looking around for something and, not finding it, asked, "Where's Kohaku? Shouldn't he be here?"

Kaede answered her. "We were in need of more food that isn't grown here, so I sent him to buy some in one of the neighboring villages."

"He went by himself? He isn't fully recovered yet! Wouldn't Sango go with him at least?"

This time Sango gave the reply. "He wanted to go himself and not have to rely on someone else. I would've sent Kirara with him, but he wouldn't take her."

While they talked on about some person, the white-haired boy sitting next to Kagome looked at Robin and said, "You know, you're welcome to come by the fire."

Almost reluctantly, Robin moved out of the shadows and sat by the fire. Immediately Miroku planted himself in front of her and, clasping their hands together, said, "My dear, you are absolutely beautiful. Would do me the honor of bearing my child?"

Sango stopped talking to Kagome, started whacking him with Hiraikotsu, then said to Robin, "Don't listen to him. He says that to every pretty girl he meets. And besides," she added protectively, "he's already taken."

Robin sweat dropped and assured her, "No, I would never dream of taking your man."

Sango's head grew huge and added horns, and she screamed, "Who said he's my man? Did I say he was my man?"

Everyone cowered in the back and Kagome said in a nervous voice, "Um, Sango?" The 'demon' Sango turned her fiery eyes towards the rest of the group. They all cringed, but Kagome kept going in a shaky voice, fearing for her life. "Well, uh, you see, Miroku is your man."

Her head shrunk back to its normal size. She looked sheepishly at them and said with her hand behind her head, "Oh, yeah, he is my man."

Everyone did the classic facevault. She turned to Robin and apologized about yelling at her. After forgiving her, Robin turned to the others. "I am Robin Sena," she introduced herself.

"I'm Sango. Nice to meet you. Um, sorry about the yelling and all," Sango said. "The guy on the floor is Miroku. He's a monk, but I doubt you could find a more lecherous one."

"She already knows me," stated Shippo.

The white-haired boy said nothing. "Don't feel like talking, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

He still said nothing. Kagome huffed and said, "All right, I'll introduce you. Robin, this is Inuyasha."

_Isn't that what the forest is called?_ "You must be an important person to have a forest named after you," she said to him.

That got him to speak. "They only named it after me because that's where I was pinned to the Goshinboku for fifty years."

"You don't look to be fifty years old," she replied, not wanting to call him a liar to his face.

"I was trying to steal the Shikon Jewel, and the priestess guarding it pinned me to the tree with her arrow. I didn't age, so when it was pulled out I was still the same age I was back then."

"What is the Shikon Jewel?" asked a confused Robin.

"It grants a wish, like a genie. It's supposed to disappear when the wish is made. However, since no one has ever made a wish on it, we don't know if that is true," said Sango. "It was created in my old village. A powerful woman named Midoriko was fighting demons that had merged together, and she couldn't defeat them. Instead, she forced their souls out of their body. In doing so, she also forced out her own. In the Shikon no Tama, the fight still goes on between Midoriko and the demons. Her whole soul wasn't trapped, and was reincarnated into Kikyo, the guardian of the Shikon Jewel, and when she died, it was born again into Kagome. Until the Jewel disappears, her soul will not find peace."

While the explanations and introductions were going on, the shadows lengthened into night. When Shippo fell asleep where he sat, Kaede announced that it was time for "ye younglings" to be in bed. They didn't argue with her, and slowly made their way to the bedroom. Only Kagome and Robin stayed out.

"Are ye not going with the others?" asked Kaede.

"I don't think we should. Robin doesn't know them very well, and I should stay with her because I'm basically the only one she hasn't met today. Or did you want to stay alone?" Kagome asked.

Robin hurriedly assured her, "Yes, please stay. I still don't know what's going on; it's a bit much for my mind to accept at the moment."

They got out the mats and lay down. They heard Sango's voice asking, "Kagome, are you and your friend not coming?"

Kagome called back, "We're staying out here tonight. We'll see you in the morning. G'night guys."

Five hours later, Robin was still awake, listening to the nightlife. She tried to sleep, but she wasn't as tired emotionally as she was last night, and the new things that happened wouldn't let her tired body rest. _Okay, let's try counting sheep. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…_

&&

Kagome knew she was dreaming. She had had this dream many times before, and each time it was a nightmare. Oh, it started out innocently enough. She was in a world that was mostly devoid of color except for blue. Now, she was still her normal color, but almost everything else was blue, even the mist surrounding her. The ground where she stood was white that had blue lines being perpendicular to one red line. There were three big black gaping holes evenly spaced near the edge of the plain where she stood. It seemed barren, but that's not true. Evil beings lived here. It seems quiet. But then _they_ come. She knows they're coming, but not from where. Uh-oh. There they are! RUN! It's too late; she can't outrun them. She'll try anyway. They began to catch up with her. They're coming for her. She can see their shapes now. It's terrifying. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

&&

Robin watch as Kagome tossed and turned in her sleep. She had given up on counting sheep, and was staring at the ceiling when Kagome began to thrash around in her sleep and moan quietly. Curious, she continued watching. Kagome started to speak, repeating, "No, stay away from me…" Wondering if she should wake Kagome from this nightmare she was having, she decided to do nothing and see what would happen next. She began to pant, like she was out of breath. Finally, she said something other than "No, stay away from me." She said it slowly, as if it hurt her to speak at all. "I can't stand Geometry!"

Robin sweat dropped. _All that fuss about math?_ Looking back at Kagome, she found that she had mostly stopped moving and was more peaceful than a few moments before. _Time to start counting sheep again. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…_


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days were like a blur to Robin. She would help the villagers and those in Kagome's group if they ever asked her. Inuyasha was the one person she rarely saw, and he was always with Kagome when she did see him. She had learned from Sango that he was a hanyou, or half demon. She was told that he was rough around the edges, but was actually kind and caring; not that he would ever admit to that, of course. He never spoke to her after the first time they met. He would barely even acknowledge her. She was a little wary around him because she knew basically nothing about him. It bothered her more than she was willing to admit that the hanyou made her nervous. In her time, he would be considered a witch, and she kept wanting to call Amon or one of the other hunters to get him. Then she would remember where she was, who he was, and her relationship with the other hunters.

She finally got the courage to venture out of the village by herself and decided to walk along the road, just to see what the scenery would be like in this time period. Watching the road, she saw a wagon coming toward her. Unsure if this was an enemy, she looked closer and saw that it was just a boy that was driving it. She stepped off the road so she wouldn't get run over. She immediately had her guard up when it stopped and the boy hopped down in front of her.

"You're far from any village, miss. It isn't safe to travel alone."

Surprised by how polite he was, she responded, "Then why are you alone?"

"I was trained to be a demon slayer. I can take care of myself. But you don't look like you were raised for that kind of life."

_He must be Sango's brother, the one who wasn't supposed to go to the other villages._ She hesitated, then asked, "By any chance, is your name Kohaku?"

He looked surprised as he replied, "Yes, I am, how do you know my name? Have we met before?"

"No," she assured him. "I heard Kagome asking about you when we came to the village."

"Oh, you know Kagome? Which village are you from?"

"Um, I'm from Kagome's village."

"Where is that? I've asked the others, but they only say that it's far away, and she has to return there for some reason."

"Well, it is far away; it's not even on any of your maps." _Do they not know where we are from?_

"Oh." He looked disappointed. Then he brightened. "It's too late to continue on to another village. You can stay with me if you want."

"What?" asked Robin in confusion. _I was only walking for half an hour._ She turned around, and saw only the open road behind her. Turning again, there was still no village. _How could I have walked this far so quickly?_ She accepted his offer after turning in a circle one last time, still trying to find the village.

Once the light was gone, Kohaku built a fire for them to see by and warm themselves with. Robin didn't think it was needed for her to unveil her Craft abilities just yet; after all, everyone thought she was just a normal human. She realized then that she was covered in dust from the road.

"Is there a place where I can clean off all this dust?" she asked Kohaku.

"You're just like Kagome; you both always have to be clean. You come from a strange village." He pointed her in the direction of the river after warning her to be wary of demons. He even offered to come along and protect her, but she hastily assured him that that wasn't needed.

She stripped off her dirty clothes and took them with her into the cold water. She felt like she was being watched, but she ignored it. She submerged herself completely in the water, wishing she had some soap to wash with. Coming back up, she found herself staring into the eyes of a giant lizard. Its yellow eyes were hypnotizing her, boring into her very soul.

"Now what would a gentle woman be doing all by herself?" the lizard demon hissed. It gently picked her up with its tail, its eyes still gazing into hers. "That's right, my lovely young human, there's no need to panic. You will be fine."

_Panic?_ she wondered idly. _Why would I panic?_

"Yes, I knew you would be docile human; you didn't even fuss when I transported you here."

_Transported me? Oh, that must be how I got here so fast._

It put her down on the other side of the bank, the opposite one where the camp was. It set itself down on top of her, licking her with its tongue, and the part of her brain that wasn't caught under its influence realized it wasn't an it, but a he. And he was on top of her. And she was wearing no clothes. That set off the alarm bells in her mind. Without thinking, she sent her fire onto him. He shrieked in pain, throwing himself into the water. He was furious when he came back up. "How DARE you do that to me, wench!" he screeched.

She said nothing, just set him on fire again. When he resurfaced, he charged her. This time she didn't stop sending her fireballs until he was completely incinerated. His dust blew away, and all that remained was a small shiny object. Curious, she picked it up. It was the color of rose quartz, but seemed to sparkle and shine with an unearthly radiance.

Walking back across the river and back to camp, she was suddenly hit with what just happened. _I was almost violated by a lizard!_ she inwardly screamed. She was almost sick with how close he actually was to mating with her. _Wait a minute. I didn't have my glasses on when I used my Craft. Does this mean I didn't ever really need them?_ She glanced around. Everything seemed the way it should have been. She tried calling her fire on a dead log in the water. It ignited. Elated, she tried a different object. Each time, it hit its mark.

She walked back to the camp in dry clothes (she used her flame to dry them) and was considerably happier than she was five minutes ago, when she was almost taken advantage of by a demon. Kohaku was asleep already when she came by the fire. Following his example, she dreamed of a time when she and the other STN-J members were still friends, or at least weren't trying to kill her.

When the sun hitting her eyes woke her, she found that Kohaku had already made breakfast and was waiting for her to wake.

"Here, I figured you'd be hungry," he said cheerfully.

"Thank you," replied Robin, touched at his thoughtfulness.

"I think by the end of the day we can make it back to the village," he said.

"Did you find everything that you were looking for?" she asked, seeing the contents of the wagon.

"I found the essential things. There was even enough money left over to buy some extra things for the others."

They spent the rest of the wagon ride talking and getting to know each other. Robin kept some things to herself, and she sensed that he did the same thing. They both realized that the other knew that they were keeping things from each other, and accepted that.

Just as Kohaku thought, they reached the village at sunset. They rolled up to Kaede's hut, where they started unloading. Kohaku told her where they were to be dropped off, and they finished fairly quickly.

When they were finished, and Kohaku had taken the wagon somewhere, they entered the hut where Kaede and the others stayed. Kagome was there with Inuyasha in the room she and Kagome stayed in. Kagome ran to Robin when they entered.

"Robin, where have you been? We thought you were attacked by a demon, and tried to find you, but Inuyasha said that your scent disappeared somewhere up the road." This was a little too close to the truth for comfort. Robin only laughed nervously, thinking of the lizard demon, while Kohaku told of how he met her on the road.

Inuyasha finally said something. "That's too far for a human to travel." He looked at her accusingly. "What exactly happened?"

She told them an abbreviated version of what happened, leaving out the fact that she was almost taken advantage of by the demon, and the shiny object. She didn't think that was relevant to the story. She also omitted the fact that she summoned fire to kill him.

When she finished, Inuyasha looked at her skeptically. "You really killed a demon with just a heavy stick? That must have been some weak demon."

Robin said nothing to that. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara had come in sometime after she started telling of how she met Kohaku. Now Sango sat next to her brother with a protective arm around him.

Robin felt like she was going to fall over; she was so tired she could barely see straight. Kaede noticed this and said to the others, "Ye can continue talking in the other room, but this young one needs her sleep."

Obediently they filed into the next room. Robin was just grateful that she was alone; well, relatively alone. They were still in the other room, and she could hear them talking, but she was by herself in this room. She fell asleep to the murmur of their voices.

&&


	9. Chapter 9

They were all talking in the other room while Robin lay sleeping in "their" room. Inuyasha was convinced that something was wrong with her story, and the others were inclined to agree with him on that point.

"That girl isn't strong enough to pick up a heavy stick, much less beat up a demon with one," he stated. "She barely has any strength at all."

"Yes she does, Inuyasha," Kagome shot back. "I've seen her working at my home. She lifts things over ten times her weight."

"I think he has a point, Kagome," said Miroku. "She doesn't seem to have the capability of destroying a lizard demon. They say that those kinds of demons have hypnotic eyes and voices that lure their prey into complacency. Then they either eat their prey or rape them. They don't tend to just attack their victims. And I've never heard of one being able to transport things unless it was extremely powerful. In that case, she wouldn't have been able to bash it with a stick, even if she is strong enough to pick one up that was heavy enough. It would have been too fast, and too strong. I agree with Inuyasha in that she doesn't look very strong. There's something missing in her story."

They turned to Kohaku, who was also falling asleep where he sat. "You were there. What happened?"

He shrugged. "She wanted to wash off the dust of the road, and asked where the river was. I offered to go along to protect her from demons, but she declined. I was asleep when she returned. She didn't say what happened while she was washing."

Sango spoke up then. "Kohaku, you're exhausted. You go sleep. We can carry on this conversation with you getting rest."

He threw her a grateful look and stumbled to the bedroom. She returned her attention to the conversation. "I'm sorry, Kagome, but I'm more inclined to believe that she's not very strong. Now I know what you saw," she said when Kagome opened her mouth angrily, "but there is no way she's strong enough to kill an incredibly weak demon, much less one that's strong enough to take her to a different place without her knowing. I don't think we'll find out the right answer unless she's here to verify that it's correct. I say we sleep on it, and then see what happens in the morning.

They followed the path Kohaku took earlier, all except Kagome and Inuyasha. She stared into the fire while Inuyasha looked at her from across the room. "You know there's something not right about her story," he whispered. Walking over to her, he sat down and put his arm across her shoulders. "I know you think she could have done in that demon, but it wasn't because she was swinging a big stick around."

"I know you're right. There's something that doesn't match. But I don't want to call her a liar. After all, she's been very helpful to me. I don't want to alienate her."

He pulled her into a hug. "We'll find out what happened. But I know she's lying. Her scent changes when she lies, just like an ordinary human's does."

"It could be that Robin doesn't tell a lot of things. I don't really know what her past is like; she only says things in bits and pieces, and very little of that."

He started nuzzling her neck. "Maybe she doesn't want to think about her past."

She held him tighter. "I know she was shot at by some people she used to work with, but I don't think she would want to forget them." She got the feeling that Inuyasha wasn't paying much attention to where the conversation was going. For that matter, neither was she. The hanyou started to nibble and kiss her neck. "I think we had better start looking for the last shard soon, Inuyasha." He didn't answer. His lips moved up and met hers. When they broke apart, she said, panting slightly, "I think we'd better stop at that, before it goes on to something we're both not ready for." Reluctantly, he followed her into the room where the others of their group were already asleep. She settled into his arms as she did the night before she left and met Robin.

She woke up a little later than she normally did, but Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku were still asleep. Slowly, she turned and saw Inuyasha watching her with love in his eyes. _I guess he feels like it's okay to let his feelings show when we're alone._

"Good morning, sunshine," he greeted her warmly before kissing her tenderly.

_He acts very differently when there aren't other people around. Or, other people aren't watching._ "Are we going to look for the last jewel shard?" she asked quietly, not wanting to wake the other sleepers in the room.

"Yeah, the sooner the better. Are we taking Robin?" he asked, his voice low.

"I think we should. She's helpful, and I'm really the only person she feels comfortable with." _Not to mention the fact that there's still more she can teach me._

"That figures." He started to get up.

She shivered at the coldness that replaced his body heat. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.

"I don't know. I get the feeling that she's not telling something important."

She stood and they walked out into the main room. "We have to take her, Inuyasha. I won't leave her."

"For you, Kagome, we'll take her."

The door where Robin was staying swished open, revealing a very disheveled Robin. "Good morning, Robin," said Kagome with a smile.

"Is it really good?" asked Robin, still half-asleep.

"We're going shard hunting," Kagome informed her.

All she got was a blank stare. "The shards of the Shikon Jewel. It broke because I hit it with my arrow, so we're looking for the missing shards. We're only missing one now."

Robin said nothing, just went back in the room and emerged a few seconds later with Kagome's huge bag and her own not-quite-so-huge bag.

Now, three days later, they were looking for a sign of the shard, except they had Shippo stay with Kaede again. Kagome could sense it was close, but she couldn't tell where it was, exactly. So they kept moving, and so did the Shikon jewel shard.

&&


	10. Chapter 10

Robin watched the flames as they reached for the night sky. Everyone else was asleep except for her. She was too keyed up to sleep. Kagome said the thing was close, but it never seemed to get any closer. She took out the shiny thing she had found and held it up to the light of the fire. It glowed with an inner light, just like it did when she first found it. She twisted it, making it catch the light of the fire. She couldn't figure out why she still had it; it was just a piece of stone, but it was a pretty stone. She sighed, put it away, and continued staring into the fire, as if they would make her sleep. She dreaded sleep now. She either dreamed of being shot by the STN members or almost being raped by a demon. Neither dream gave her a peaceful rest.

Movement made her look up. Inuyasha was getting up and coming toward her. He sat down on the opposite side of the fire and looked at her hard.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" he stated more than asked.

"No, why?" she asked, confused.

"No one believes that you took on a lizard demon and defeated it, even if it were a weak demon."

"Believe what you like. I did it only to defend myself."

"You didn't beat it with a stick. It isn't possible for something like that to die just because of being hit over the head. We want to know what really happened."

Robin continued to look into the fire. "It was in self-defense. I never meant to kill him."

"No one is saying what you did was wrong."

"But it was wrong! I took a life! I took something that I can't give back."

"I wouldn't feel too bad if I were you. That demon probably didn't have any problems killing or hurting you."

"No, he didn't," she said quietly, not meaning for that to be heard. She didn't count of his demon hearing.

"What happened?" he asked again.

_Might as well spill it to the one who won't care._ "I was bathing in the river to get rid of the dirt, and when I came up for air, he was looking at me with his golden eyes. He took me to the opposite bank of where Kohaku was, and tried to rape me." She went silent, thinking of how she was so easily taken; she didn't even fight, not until he was already on top of her. She had surprised him; that was the only way she had saved herself.

She didn't notice his look of comprehension. Now he understood why she didn't make a fuss about it. There was still something missing in her story. It didn't explain how she got rid of the demon. "I can see why you wouldn't want to talk about it," he said gently, "but that still doesn't explain how you killed him."

_I can't tell! It would be suicide to tell._ "I can't say for sure."

"I think you do."

"I can't say," she repeated.

"You're afraid." She looked up in surprise. "I was like that once. I was afraid that no one would accept me. I wasn't a demon or a human, and neither race would accept me. I know there's something you're afraid of admitting because you don't want to be an outcast."

_He actually understands. I didn't even know that was how I felt until he spelled it out for me._ Now she saw that they shared some sort of bond; he had it harder than she did, but they both basically had the same background. Taking a gamble, she told him what actually happened, again not mentioning the shiny stone, since it had nothing to do with the lizard.

When she finished, he shook his head and asked, "Your talent is fire?"

"Yes. I learned to master the fire Craft when I was in Italy."

"Italy? Where is that?"

"It's far away on the other side of the world. I was taken there when I was born, and was raised there.

"Are you sure that they won't turn on me when they find out?"

"I can tell you without a doubt that they'll still like you."

"I don't know. I told Kagome that I just learned how the Craft works, that I didn't have any power of my own."

"Why did you do that?"

"I was being hunted because they thought I was a witch. I didn't know I could trust her."

They sat in silence for a while. She now felt like she could trust these people. She was deep in her thoughts when she felt rather than saw Inuyasha stiffen. She started to speak, but he shook his head slightly. "No," he whispered. "Don't say anything. We're surrounded."

Five seconds after he made that statement, bandits came out of the bushes and surrounded them. Inuyasha looked at them in disgust, saying, "They're just ordinary bandits. You won't find anything worth stealing from us, guys."

The man who looked like their leader laughed and said, "Hah! That shows how much you know. We happen to know that you have the completed Shikon no Tama, and we want it!"

Inuyasha snorted. "If we had the complete jewel, then we wouldn't be looking for the rest of it!"

"No matter, you have most of the Jewel since you took Naraku's piece. Now give it to us!"

"Why would a human want the Shikon Jewel anyway? You can't use it, so what's the point?"

"We'll show you." All of the bandits' skins ripped, and showed a bunch of tough-looking demons.

"They were wearing human skins. That's why I couldn't smell the demon scent. Okay then, I'll just have to bust you all open."

While they were talking, Kirara managed to wake up Sango and Kohaku, and they woke the others. So when the demons charged them, they were ready to attack back. The demon bandits vastly outnumbered them, but they weren't that hard to take down, just a couple blows, and they went down.

Then one of the demons went after Robin. She reacted instinctively, throwing her fire at it. It screamed and threw itself on the ground, trying to beat out the flames. When the other demons saw what had happened, they tried to charge her en masse, thinking that she couldn't get more than one at a time. She proved them wrong. Setting fire to them all was no problem for her. After that little show-and-tell, they retreated, calling back to them that they would return and get revenge.

Kagome walked up to Robin and asked quietly, "Why did you not tell me that you had your own powers?"

She told them what she had told Inuyasha 30 minutes before. To her surprise, they forgave her quite easily. "You didn't know if you could trust me, since I could have been working for the STN-J just like you," Kagome said. "I can understand that." After that little fiasco, Robin found that she could now sleep. Lying down, she was in dreamland as soon as her head hit the ground.

&&


	11. Chapter 11

**Finally, we add YYH. Where are my reviewers? I know people read this, but I don't get any feedback. Is it good? Bad? Mediocre? I love feedback, even constructive criticism. Reviewers are my friends; review, and I will love you. Remember that.**

&&

Robin fell asleep soon after telling everyone about her power, or Craft, she called it. But, unlike Robin, Kagome couldn't sleep. She kept hearing whimpering, and it wouldn't stop. Finally, she got up. There was no one awake at the moment except for her and the thing making the whimpering sound. She followed it into the trees surrounding their camp, then beyond the light of the fire. She could barely see where she was going. Tracing it to a nearby bush, she parted it and saw a little boy. He was curled into a ball, and looked up fearfully when she separated the top of his bush. She reached out a hand, but he tensed away from it. "Ssssssh, it's okay," she said, trying to soothe him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Where's Karo?" he asked, still frightened of her.

"Who's Karo? Is he your dad?" she asked.

"No, he's the leader."

_Leader?_ Thinking hard, she couldn't figure out what he meant. Then, struck with inspiration, she asked, "Was he the leader of the demon bandits?"

He slowly nodded his head. "He's supposed to come and get me when they're done taking from those people over there." He indicated the direction of their camp with a nod of his head.

"I don't think he's going to come anytime soon," she informed him.

The poor child looked crestfallen. "He said he would, though," he cried. "Now what am I going to do? He's always taken care of me!"

_I can't leave him here. He's just a child._ "You could come with me," she offered. "We'll take care of you."

He looked at her distrustfully. "Karo said not to trust anyone outside the group."

"Karo isn't very trustworthy, though, is he?"

He thought for a moment. "Okay," he finally said. Moving carefully out of the bush, she saw scratches and bruises all over his small body. _What happened to this child?_ She asked him how he got those injuries. He shrugged it off. "When I did something I wasn't supposed to, Karo beat me. If he wasn't around, the others beat me."

This shocked Kagome. "How could you stay with them?" she asked.

"They are my family. They raised me, so I stay with them."

"They WERE your family. No one should beat a child when they don't know better."

He began to warm up to her as they walked back to camp. She found out that his name is Hiei, and the thieves had found him when he was a baby. When they walked into the makeshift camp, Kagome took him over to the fire to better see his cuts and bruises. They were a lot worse than she had thought. _Might as well try my healing Craft,_ she thought. "Hold still," she said to Hiei. He did as he was told, and she closed her eyes. _Feel where the wounds are,_ Robin had said. _You will know what's supposed to be there and what isn't. Imagine the wounds getting better, and your Craft will make it so._ She focused on his injuries, and imagined them vanishing. She heard his sharp intake of breath, and assumed that something was happening. Opening her eyes, she saw that his injuries were gone. All of them. He was looking at her adoringly.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," he whispered. "I got used to being in pain the whole time, and now it's gone."

She smiled, pleased that her first attempt had gone perfectly. To her surprise, he hugged her and clung to her like she was his lifeline. Since he wouldn't let go, she picked him up and got into her sleeping bag with him still clinging to her neck.

She was up before the others, as usual. She let Hiei stay in her bag, since she figured he would be tired after last night. She got out the instant Ramen noodles (healthy breakfast, no?) and waited for them to be ready to eat. Robin got up five minutes after she started making the noodles, and sat with her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my Craft," she apologized again.

"It's fine. I didn't tell you about having the Shikon no Tama."

"Still, I never asked, and you didn't lie."

"True." Silence for a while. Then, "By the way, Robin, I found another traveling companion."

"You did?"

"Yep. He was abandoned by the bandits from last night."

"Where is he?"

"He's asleep in my sleeping bag."

Robin went over to look, and saw the adorable little child sleeping peacefully. She walked back and said, "He's so cute! Why would he be with bandits?"

Kagome told the other girl what Hiei had told her last night.

"They beat him! Who would do something like that to a child?" Robin asked, outraged.

"Apparently, Karo and the others in the group. They're demons, remember? They don't do the same things that we humans do, or don't do."

They heard a whimper; a small one, but it was there. Kagome quickly walked over to Hiei, who was making the whimpering sound. He opened his eyes, and, seeing her leaning over him, reached up and clung to her, softly crying into her shirt. _I feel like I did this last night,_ she thought ruefully as she carried him over to Robin, who was watching the noodles, making sure that they weren't burned. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but he only shook his head, tightened his hold on her, and continued his soft crying.

"He seems to be a bit unstable," noted Robin.

"Something probably scared him when he was dreaming," said Kagome, rubbing his back.

When he had calmed down a bit, they gathered from the fragments of what he told them that he had thought that she had just been a dream, and he would wake up still with Karo and the others.

"He seems very attached to you, even though you just met last night," Robin said.

"He was abused in an unforgivable way!" declared Kagome. "I'd have nightmares too if I had to stay with them."

At this time, the noodles announced that they were ready by way of steam. Robin got them ready to be eaten since Hiei still wouldn't let go of Kagome. "I'll get the rest of the bunch up," volunteered Robin. While she went to do that, Kagome fed Hiei. Now, he was old enough to feed himself, but he refused to let go of her, so she had to feed him and herself. _This is fun,_ she thought.

Then the others came. Hiei buried himself in her arms again as soon as they sat down. Miroku looked at her for a moment before asking, "Um, Kagome? What is on your lap?"

Sango looked over and said, "It looks like a boy. Where did you find him?"

She once again told what had happened that night. Then Inuyasha yelled her at for not telling anyone that she was leaving. Kagome shouted back at him that she didn't have to answer to him, and if she felt like wandering off in the middle of the night, then that was her business. All the loud voices scared poor Hiei, and he started crying again, still clinging to Kagome. Sango noticed this, and suggested in a loud voice that they don't yell because they were frightening the child. Kagome immediately stopped and rubbed his back again. Inuyasha quieted down too, but was still glaring at Kagome.

They talked about where they were going next as they ate. Kagome refused to leave Hiei, and Hiei refused to let go of her. He wouldn't even talk. She managed to get him to look at the rest of the gang, but her arms were always around him.

"The jewel shard is close, but I still can't pinpoint where exactly," Kagome said. "I can only tell that it's close. Very close."

"Well, let's look for it," Inuyasha said, jumping up.

"Yes, the sooner we find it the sooner we can return," said Miroku, giving Sango a look. _That's right. When the jewel is complete, Miroku and Sango are getting married._ She started to lift Hiei off her lap so she could stand up, but he twisted around and hooked his tiny arms around her neck so she wouldn't drop him. Seeing that she now had him hanging onto her, the others did her share of the work. They also moved slower because of him. They continued searching for the rest of the day. Hiei, still being a small child, slept while they were still moving. They still hadn't found any trace of a demon in the area that was powerful enough to have to Shikon Jewel shard. It was beginning to take its toll on their patience, especially Inuyasha. Ever since Hiei had joined them, Kagome had shared her sleeping bag with him and didn't stay in his arms. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed her at night.

Hiei still never let Kagome go. She had to be touching him or else he would start to whimper and cry again, and wouldn't stop until she came back. At least he started talking to the others. If he could do something for them while being with Kagome, he would do it. He was a sweet child that wanted to please them, but refused to be away from Kagome.

He did get better the longer he stayed with them. It even got to the point where he didn't have to be touching Kagome, and would help with setting up camp. She still had to be there, where he could see her, but he didn't have to feel her to know that she was there.

The shard continued to elude them. If they moved, it would move, but they never saw it. Miroku said one day while they were shard hunting, "I think it's following us. It has been almost a month since we first started looking for it, and we haven't even seen a trace of it. I say we stay in one spot until Kagome feels it move."

The others liked this idea, and they started to set up one last camp. Kagome noticed that Robin was moving slower than normal, and her eyes seemed a bit… not completely there. She walked over to her, and asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little out of it today."

Robin looked up and smiled weakly. "I wasn't aware of how much time has passed. Kendal was supposed to have left about two weeks ago, though I doubt that he left without your mother, who won't leave without you."

"True, it's hard to keep track of time in this era. Oh, do you think those friends of yours are back yet?"

"They should be. When we return to the village, I'm going back to try and call them."

At this time, Hiei came back with the firewood. Dumping his load, he ran to Kagome and reached up, asking to be picked up. Laughing, she complied. He was still so light! She couldn't get over that fact. He was always asking to be held, and she couldn't say no. He was also getting better at being away from her for longer periods of time. He could have someone else hold him instead of her. He still had to sleep with her, which annoyed Inuyasha to no end, but other than that, he improved by leaps and bounds. He kind of grew on everyone.

Robin went to light the fire, but Hiei called for her to wait. He went to where she stood via Kagome taking him over, and asked in his sweet voice if he could light the fire this time. Surprised, she agreed. He extended one arm toward the bundle of wood and concentrated. Fire wrapped around his arm and shot towards the sticks. He looked at them proudly, as this was the first time he had done anything like that.

It shocked everyone that he could do this, except Inuyasha. He came over to them and said to Hiei, "Not bad, kid. You'll make a fine fire demon yet." Since Inuyasha rarely gave praise of any kind to anyone, this made Hiei practically glow. After all, he looked up to Inuyasha; well, he looked up to all of them, but Inuyasha was the hardest to please.

When they had finished eating, he surprised them again. Since they weren't going anywhere, he had gone out to find some water. Coming back with a bucketful from the stream, he set it on the ground. He poured some water into his hands and frowned at it. Seeing Sango was nearest to him, he walked over and tugged at her shirt. She turned and he presented his creation to him. He could tell she liked it by the expression on her face.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

He pointed to the water bucket.

"You found this in the water?"

He shook his head. "I made it," he said proudly.

She took the rose of ice from him. "It's beautiful."

Robin came over to see what Sango and Hiei were doing. Sango showed her the rose, and Robin found it just as beautiful as a real one, if not more so. "I didn't know you were a fire and ice demon," she said. Again, only Inuyasha wasn't surprised.

"Well, I can smell it in him," he said. "He's part Koorime and part Fire demon."

"How were the rest of us supposed to know that?" demanded Kagome.

"Well, no one said anything, so neither did I," was his excuse.

&&


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry I couldn't update yesterday; my sisters had the computer the entire time. Fuyu Taki, you are a very good person! You are now one of my favorite people. Yes, it is sad that no one else has bothered to tell me if it's good or bad, but since you like it, that has brightened my day considerably.**

**Here's the next chapter, and remember, review at the end. I don't write primarily for reviews, but it's a bit disheartening to get absolutely no feedback.**

&&

Robin stared at the stone again. It was so pretty, and none of the others would look at her strangely if she only looked at it while they were asleep. It seemed to help her think, too. _I need to get back and call them. It'll take a lot of talking of how they'll profit off it, but I think I can do at least that. Then there's Kagome. Her family won't leave without her. If only I had Michael to help me! But he can't, and there's nothing I can do about that. Poor Hiei will be torn apart when Kagome has to leave. She can't take him with her, and she can't stay here. Well, maybe she could, but then what's the point of me trying to get them to buy the place?_ The fire crackled, breaking her concentration. Looking at the sleepers, she wished she could be that peaceful. But it's too late for that. When Amon hunted her, that ended.

She looked back into the fire and once again got lost in her musings. She didn't even notice Inuyasha get up and come over. She was staring at the stone, like it would tell her what to do. Inuyasha also looked at the stone, and froze. He stared at it, then her, then back to it.

"Robin?" he asked in a strange voice.

"Hm? What?" she responded.

"How long have you had that stone?" His voice was really strange now.

"I found it when the lizard demon was blown away. Why?"

"Do you mean to tell me that we have been out here for two months, and you've had it the whole time?" Now it sounded like he was being strangled.

"Had what?"

"THE JEWEL SHARD!" he yelled.

"Oh." She looked at the stone in her hand. "This is the thing we've been looking for?"

He facevaulted. "YES, THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!"

"Um, oops?" she said, looking sheepish.

&&

Inuyasha told the others the "good" news in the morning. Robin had had the shard the entire time. Kagome didn't really blame her for not saying anything; after all, she didn't even know what the jewel looked like. She had never seen it, or a shard of it. She kept apologizing, and eventually the others forgave her.

It took them another three weeks to get back to the village, where and ecstatic Shippo greeted them. "You're finally back!" he cried. "We were beginning to think that you had disappeared."

They told Kaede what had happened, and introduced their new companion. Then they unloaded their things into the room. Robin took Kagome aside and whispered, "I'll try to call them."

It took Kagome a second to figure out what she meant, then said, "I'll take you to the well." The two girls, plus Hiei, went to Inuyasha's Forest, where the well was located. Since Kagome didn't want Hiei knowing about the well just yet, she said, "Follow the path; it leads to where you need to go."

They watch as Robin left them. "Where is Robin going?" asked Hiei.

"She's looking for something. She'll be back later, or at least I think she will."

&&

Robin wasn't exactly sure how the well worked, but she figured that if they jumped down the well to get here, jumping down would bring her back. She jumped, and was surrounded by the same purple glow that had taken them to the Sengoku Jidai. Looking up, she saw the roof of the well house. Taking out her phone, which she had picked up at Kaede's, dialed their number. One of the maids answered the phone. "This is Robin Sena. Can you let me talk to the master of the home?"

"Just a moment," said the maid. A few seconds later, a man answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Robin Sena."

This started the long conversation. At first, he wanted nothing to do with a Shinto Shrine in Japan, since he would never see it, as he lived in Italy. But, she managed to get him to see how much he would make with this place as a tourist site, and she would do all the work. Just buy it, she would stay in it, and work in it.

The man was generous, though. He knew Robin since she was a baby, and said that as long as most of the profits went to him, the place was hers. She would have to go to school, of course, but she would run the place and basically own it. Most of the profit went to him, mind. But he would buy it as soon as possible. She thanked him and hung up. _Now I can tell Kagome the good news,_ she thought happily. She crawled halfway up the well, and jumped back down to be taken back to the Feudal Era.

They were already asleep by the time Robin got back. Well, everyone except Hiei. He was sitting by the fire with Kagome and Inuyasha, who were asleep behind him. He looked up as she entered.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" she asked. _He should be in bed!_

He stumbled over to her and fell into her arms that were ready to catch him. "I wanted to wait for you," he mumbled.

"You're falling over. You need to be in bed," she said with mock sternness.

He only yawned and snuggled into her arms. _This is new,_ she thought. _Normally he would be jumping back to Kagome._ But he didn't fuss when she walked into the room where the others were. She had gotten used to sleeping with them around, and figured it would be okay. He was already asleep, his arms still around her neck. She lay down, careful not to crush him, and fell asleep.

&&

When Kagome woke in the morning, she realized two things. One, Hiei wasn't with her, and two, Inuyasha was. He was already awake, looking at her.

"Do know where Hiei is?" she asked.

He sniffed the air and said, "He went with Robin when she came in. And they are both with the others. I guess this means that he doesn't have to stay with you anymore."

"I guess it does," she agreed. She would have gotten up, but he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"We haven't been like this in a long time," he said.

"No, we haven't." She would have said more, but a stream of kisses sealed her lips, making talk impossible. He finally stopped, much to her disappointment. He smiled when he saw her reaction, and said, "We can continue that tomorrow."

She sighed, but got up too. "I need to take Robin's jewel shard. Then we can make the wish, and it'll disappear."

Just then Hiei hesitantly entered the room. He was wary, since they had come at night, and didn't really get a chance to see what was in there. He walked over to them, but it was Inuyasha that was asked to hold him this time. He complied with the child's unspoken request, and asked if he was the only one awake. Hiei nodded yes.

"When did Robin get in?" asked Kagome.

"It was late. You had been asleep fore three hours before she came back."

Then Robin herself entered the room. "Well, speak of the devil," said Inuyasha.

Robin looked at them in confusion. "Did you need me for something?"

Kagome answered, "Yes, we need your jewel shard. Can we have it?"

Robin fished around in her pockets for a second before producing the shard. "This is what you wanted, right?" she asked.

"Yep, that's the one." Kagome took out the Shikon Jewel piece that they had, and fused the two together. "Now we have the complete Shikon no Tama."

"What will you do with it?" Robin wanted to know.

"Me? Nothing." She presented it to Inuyasha. "It's yours. Make your wish."

"I can't." He pushed her had away.

"But I thought you were going to use it to become a full demon," she said in confusion.

"I was, but now I think that Miroku or Sango will have better wishes to make than that."

They sat there and Kagome made breakfast for them. They ate as they waited for Sango and Miroku to wake up.

Kagome noticed someone else missing, or two someone elses. "Where's Kaede and Shippo?" she asked.

Shippo wasn't the hard one; he came bounding in as soon as he smelled the breakfast cooking. Kaede wasn't seen, though.

Miroku was the first to come in. He sat down next to his food and looked at it without realizing he was supposed to eat it until Hiei, deciding that Miroku needed to be fed, toddled over to him and, putting the food in a spoon, put it in front of his face. He took the spoon after thanking Hiei for looking out for him. And then there was Sango. Apparently she had a rough night. She snapped at Inuyasha for asking if there was anything the matter. She scared Hiei, and he buried himself into Kagome's arms, once again not allowing her to eat, so Inuyasha had to feed her, Hiei, and himself.

The disaster was when she was turned, and Miroku felt her rear end again. She roared, making herself 10 feet tall, and proceeded to bash him around with Hiraikotsu. The others ignored it, and Kagome covered Hiei's ears and Inuyasha blocked his view of what she was doing.

"Um, I don't think that today will be a good time to ask them about their wishes," Kagome said, a sweat drop forming as she watched their progress.

Inuyasha only nodded. He was busy trying to block Hiei's view and feed him at the same time; not easy when Hiei's head is moving this way and that, wondering why Kagome had blocked his ears.

Sango didn't calm down for the rest of the day. She went into the woods to get away from them, so they wouldn't annoy her and they wouldn't get shouted at. The others cleaned up the hut, wondering where Kaede was. Kagome was pulled aside by Robin, who took them outside.

"What's going on back in the present? Are they buying?" asked Kagome anxiously.

"It gets better than that. Not only have they agreed to buy it, it's going to be under my name, so it's mine! Well, they're paying for it, and most of the profits are going to them, but I stay there, I own the place, and I get to keep some of the money coming in. Not much, but it's something. They'll pay for anything the place needs."

"Wow! They must really like you."

"They've known me ever since I came to Italy as a baby. They sort of took a shine to me. They're the ones that paid for my learning the Craft."

"Learning?"

"Well, you have to have the potential, and they'll show you how to use it. Of course, Father Juliano, the head priest of the convent where I was raised, had to agree to it."

"So that's how you knew so much about my Craft," Kagome said, finally understanding.

"That, and I studied the witches we caught at the STN-J."

Kagome looked down the road and saw a familiar figure coming towards them. "Kaede!" she cried, running to meet her. The old miko greeted them with a smile and a basket each.

"I was at a neighboring village, where they needed my assistance," she said in response to their queries. "The gifts in the baskets are their way of thanking me."

She was introduced to Hiei, who was hiding behind Kagome's legs. He quickly got over his shyness when she didn't yell or treat him like an inferior. The old woman had to go to bed because she had insisted on walking back here. "They couldn't afford to send a wagon or a horse," she had said.

They all went to bed soon after she did. Hiei had opted to stay with Robin again, giving Kagome a chance to be with Inuyasha. While sleeping, she dreamed she saw Midoriko. She sort of floated over to the old warrior-priestess and said, "The Shikon Jewel is complete. You can rest now."

Midoriko smiled. "You did a marvelous job remaking the jewel. But I think that the legend has warped what actually happens when it is complete. I will rest now that the jewel is complete, but since you have part of my soul, I won't be able to completely be at peace until your soul rejoins mine.

"Now, about the Shikon Jewel. It won't disappear once a wish has been made on it, I'm afraid. If it did, then the demons trapped inside it will be released into the world once again. It will continually grant wishes, and remain in this world. When we cease to exist, my soul and the demons' souls will vanish from the jewel. It will still grant wishes, but it will be safe to destroy it then."

"We can't destroy it while I'm alive?" asked Kagome.

"No, I'm afraid that you will have to look after the jewel for the rest of your life. It won't be destroyed until you're dead. And you now have a long time to live. It lengthens the life of its protectors so that you will not age beyond a certain point. I didn't mean for this to happen, but it was a last resort to trap my soul in a jewel."

She started fading. "Wait, Midoriko! If I age more slowly, what about my friends?" cried Kagome.

The priestess kept becoming more transparent. "If they also protect the jewel, then their lives will lengthen to match yours. That is all I can tell you."

Kagome woke after this was said. Everyone else was gone, and light was streaming in the window. _Oh, great, I overslept._ She groaned. _Now I have to look after the Jewel for the rest of my life. How lovely._ Not bothering to groom herself, she walked into the main room. There was no one there, but they had thoughtfully left her breakfast. After finishing her eggs, she found Kaede weeding her garden. She told the old miko about her dream. Kaede nodded, and said sagely, "Yes, I suspected something like this would happen."


	13. Chapter 13

**Band Camp, I mean, "Band Session 2" is over for the day, so now I can post the next chapter.**

**Fuyu Taki, as far as I know, nothing will happen to change the plans for buying the shrine. They just have to leave first. Thank you for reviewing; you are still one of my favorite people. Anyway, this is probably the second-to-last chapter, so if you want the next one up, I'll need more feedback. If just one person wants the next one up, I'll put it up.**

&&

Kagome now wore the jewel on a string as a necklace. She thought that the best way to protect would be to keep it with her. Walking around, she saw Shippo was now entertaining the younger Hiei with his bag of fox tricks. Sango and Miroku were helping some of the villagers with the plowing of fields, and other stuff like that. She didn't see Robin or Inuyasha in the village, so she strolled into Inuyasha's Forest and to the Goshinboku. There she found Robin reading a book and Inuyasha in the branches, looking at nothing in particular.

Talking to Robin looked much easier than trying to coax Inuyasha to come down and talk. Robin looked up at the sound of her footsteps. Putting the book aside, she stood and asked, "When were you planning on going back, exactly?"

Kagome sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to, but I will have to go back eventually. I want to wait a little while, though."

Inuyasha, surprisingly, came down and joined the conversation. "You don't have to, you know. You're more than welcome to stay."

"I can't leave my family like that. Besides, if they leave, Robin's friends can buy the shrine, and then I can come back from England, and stay with her."

"I don't think it will be quite that simple," Robin said sadly. "How would you manage to get to the airport? And how would you get to the shrine?"

"I would find a way, somehow," she said.

All the talk about technology completely threw Inuyasha. He just remained silent. They walked back to the village after they had exhausted that subject. Kagome felt a strong demon aura enter the area. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up. I have to go check on something," she said, shooing them on.

She walked towards the demon energy. _Why didn't Inuyasha feel it? I guess the jewel heightened my senses._ She felt like she was being watched, but continued walking anyway. Then she whirled around, and saw a gorgeous silver fox. He looked like a human, but he had the same ears as Inuyasha, and he had a tail. They looked at each other for a minute, then he turned and left. _Why did he come all this way just to leave again?_ She wondered. Her hand went to her throat, where the Shikon Jewel wasn't. She gasped. _He took the Jewel and I didn't even notice!_ She ran after him, but he already knew that she would come after him and reverted to animal form. She could see him bounding away and knew she could never catch him. _Great. NOW how am I supposed to get it back?_ She thought hard, and remembered the energy arrows that she had used against Naraku, seeming years ago. She formed the arrow and bow, and let it fly. It hit its mark, and he shrieked in agony. Her arrow was steadily purifying him, but before it could finish the job, his spirit leaped out his body and vanished.

Running to where she had shot him, she saw that the Shikon Jewel was still there. _Thank goodness_ she thought, putting it around her neck again. _I'd better be more careful._ Walking unsteadily back to the village, she wondered where he was from. It wasn't common knowledge that the jewel was complete once again, but it would make its way around eventually. There was no way of stopping people from gossiping.

That night, a loud racket woke Kagome. She made sure she still had the Shikon no Tama and ran outside. There was fire everywhere. The villagers were in disarray, trying to get water to put out the fire. She saw demons running around, trying to run humans through with their swords. One of them turned to her and she recognized him as Karo, the bandit leader. He leapt over to her and sneered, "You have something of ours. We want the Shikon Jewel."

"Leave if you know what's good for you," she shot back.

The idiot charged her. Getting her energy arrows, she fired at him and it hit. He started smoking, and his face was contorted with pain, but he didn't yell. Instead, he grabbed her throat and started to squeeze her. Kagome clawed at him, but his grip only got tighter. _That's strange,_ she thought as she saw his aura. _His aura's changing. It's becoming sort of whitish._ She remembered Robin's lessons about her ghost Craft. _That's his soul! If I get rid of that, then he won't be able to move. Well, he'll be dead, but that's what I want. Okay, separate the white aura from the regular aura._ She could tell by his face that something was happening that wasn't supposed to be happening. He let go, gasping for breath, but his soul escaped him and fled into the sky. The demons nearest them stared at their fallen leader, then, once again, charged all at once. She purified them.

Someone called the retreat, and the demons fell back. This time there was no threat of return. Kagome was surprised at how quickly they left. There was no trace of them to follow. _I guess they don't want us following them._ Wanting to help the villagers clean up the place, she worked with them until everything was more or less in its place.

At this time, she saw Robin, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango approaching her, their eyes downcast. "Hey, guys, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

Robin answered brokenly, "They took Hiei."

Kagome felt like her whole world was crashing down with those three words. "Hiei? How did they know he was here?"

"They can put two and two together."

"We have to go after them!"

Inuyasha decided to enlighten her on why they weren't helping the villagers. "We were tracking them. They escaped to Makai. We couldn't follow because they closed the portal behind them. There's no way we can get him back. I'm sorry."

Kagome felt numb. Hiei was basically her baby; she couldn't lose him! It was still dark out, but no one felt like sleeping. They all stared into the fire of the main room, feeling like their hearts would break. They were all attached to the boy, and his capture hit them hard.

The sun came up, and they were all in the same positions. No one had even moved. Kaede came in and said that they were needed to help rebuild the homes. They did as they were told, mechanically working until breaks were called. Robin, coming out of her depression a little bit, went to Kagome and said quietly, "I know this isn't the best time, but we have to go back and buy your place."

Kagome couldn't comprehend what she was talking about at first. Then, when she did, she glared at Robin and said, "Are you heartless, or something? Can't you see that we can't leave now?"

"School will be starting soon, and if you're enrolling here, we have to get a move on."

Kagome stood up angrily. "You heartless WENCH!" she shouted, slapping Robin as hard as she could. She stormed off, leaving Robin reeling from the slap.

&&


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, my readers and reviewer(s). I've been updating my stories every day, but that terrible time is almost upon us once more. That's right: school. If I'm lucky, I might be able to squeeze in a chapter on the weekends. There's a possibility that I'll be able to get some in during the week if my teachers decide not to give me too much homework, but it's highly unlikely. Anyway, this is the last chapter, and now that I think about it, I can probably post the first chapter of the sequel as well. We'll see how I feel.**

**Fuyu Taki: Yes, Kagome was a little OOC at that last part. Still, I stand by what I wrote. She just lost her "baby", and is probably feeling a bit OOC. When unforeseen disasters happen, people tend to act a little different than normal. If you still think that you're right, then I'll change it. In fact, if anyone agrees with you, then I'll change it. I'm prejudiced, so I can't be counted on to look at this objectively.**

&&

Robin felt the raw part of her cheek where Kagome had hit her. She was a bit angry with her because she was only doing this for her, but she could understand why she was like this. _Hiei was close to us all. Now it's very likely we'll never see him again. But we have to go back very soon. I think the sooner the better._ She went back to Kaede's hut and packed her things. _Even if she doesn't come, I have to._ Walking to the well, she spotted Kagome walking sedately towards her. Robin braced herself, but Kagome said quietly, "I'm sorry, Robin. You didn't deserve that. I'm just so distraught about Hiei."

"I know," Robin replied. "We were all close to him, but there's nothing we can do right now. I'm going back."

"I'll go with you. I know you're right, and I'll leave a note for them."

Robin waited a few minutes before she saw Kagome running up to the well. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes," was her reply. Together, they jumped down the well to their own time.

&&

Kagome felt really bad about slapping Robin. After all, she didn't do anything to deserve it. She just approached her at the wrong time.

They started climbing out of the well, first Robin, then Kagome. There was no one in the well house; not surprising, if you thought about it. There wasn't anything interesting in here, except a dangerous old well. Exiting it, they saw lights on in the house. They looked at each other. "You have to go," said Robin. "If he sees me, then I'm a dead person."

"Okay. Try and sneak into my room." Robin ran toward Kagome's room, which had a large tree growing outside of it, while Kagome herself walked towards the lights, feeling like she was walking towards her doom. She pushed open the door, and saw Sota eating dinner. He looked up at her in disbelief for a second, then threw his arms around her. "Kagome," he shouted joyfully. "You're back!"

His shouts caused the rest of the family and Kendal to come running. Her mother, considerably rounder than she was two months ago, hugged her like she would never let go. "Kagome," she kept saying, rocking her eldest child.

Kendal looked like he was glad, but his eyes said that he would have a few choice words with her later. They kept fawning over her, asking if she was okay. Her mother looked like she was about to ask about Robin, but Kagome whispered in her ear, "She's fine, too."

When they finished fussing, she put her bag down and Sota took it. "Did you bring back anything?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.

She thought of the Hiruseki stones that Hiei cried. She had saved all of them. "Yes, I did," she said. Digging through her bag while he still held it, she got one stone out and gave it to him. "Be careful with that."

"What is it?" her brother asked, examining it.

"It's a Hiruseki stone," she answered. "They're rare stones, so be extra careful."

From the sharp intake of breath from the adults, they knew how rare and expensive they were. Kendal would probably want to know where she got them, but she couldn't tell. Especially not him. But he didn't have to know that she had more than one.

"I'm sorry I made you worry so much," she apologized with false sincerity.

"You must be tired," her mother said.

"Yeah, so I'll just take my stuff to my room and sleep, if that's okay."

"I'll go with you," Kendal offered, more like commanded.

She didn't have much choice but to let him follow her. She hastily threw her stuff into her room, then shut it quickly. She could feel Robin coming to the door, listening, no doubt.

Kendal started the conversation. "Where have you been?" he demanded.

"I've been away, that's all," was her answer. "Why?"

"Do you know how much your mother was worried? She wouldn't leave for England without you, and here you are, waltzing in like you own this place."

"And why does this matter to you? YOU could have left."

"I won't leave without my family."

"Since when were you my family?"

"Since we got married." That was a shocker for Kagome.

"I thought you weren't getting married until you got back to England."

"She didn't know when you would come back. She wanted you to be there, but again, we didn't know when you'd be back, if at all."

"I see. Anything else you wanted to vent?"

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" he said angrily.

"I don't care that you married my mother. Well, actually I do, but that's not the point. Anyway, even though you're married to my mom, that doesn't make you my father, and I'm not treating you like you were. And there isn't really anything you can do about it."

He looked like was about to explode; his whole face was red. "When you come to England, you won't be so cocky, missy. I can promise at least that!" He spun on his heel and left. Kagome sighed, and opened the door. Robin was flattened behind it, trying not to get squished. Closing the door behind her, Kagome fell on the bed.

"What did I do to deserve him?" she asked, angry tears leaking from her eyes.

"Maybe the question is 'what did he do to deserve you'," Robin said, coming and sitting by her. Then she looked closer at the bed. "Um, Kagome?" she asked uncertainly.

"Hm?"

"I-I think you're crying Hiruseki stones."

She jerked her head up and looked at the bed. Sure enough, Hiruseki stones littered the pillow. "How did that happen?" she asked, bewildered.

"It could be the Shikon Jewel. You want Hiei back so much, I guess this is its way of giving a part of him to you."

"Robin, please don't make me go with him," Kagome pleaded. "He's a monster, and I will never accept him or his child. I refuse to!"

"Well, just stay there for, I don't know, but I'll try and get you here in two weeks. That's about a week before school starts. If I haven't done it by then, take a risk and come yourself."

"They'll probably sell this thing first thing tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll call my benefactors again and tell them."

Robin dialed their number, and told them the news. They thanked her, and they hung up. "Okay, they know."

"Good, now let's get some sleep."

To their amazement, everything went smoothly. The friends called, and Mrs. Higurashi sold it to them. Then it was time for Kagome to leave.

&&

Kagome looked so sad, leaving her only home in this era. "Remember, two weeks," she reminded Robin.

"Two weeks," Robin repeated.

As Kagome drove away, Robin looked out of her window, and waved. Kagome waved back a little._ I will get you out of England and back here, _Robin promised._ I will get you away from him._

End Part I


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